:  V 


a; 


LATER    LETTERS   OF 
EDWARD      LEAR 


Demy  &vo,  cloth^  15s.  net. 
LETTERS  OF  EDWARD  LEAR 

(Author  of  "  The  Book  of  Nonsense  ") 

to  Chichester  Fortescue,  Lord  Carlingford, 
and  Frances,  Countess  Waldegrave  (1848  to 
1864).  Edited  by  Lady  Strachey  (of  Sutton 
Court).  With  a  Photogravure  Frontispiece, 
3  Coloured  Plates,  and  many  other  Illustrations. 

LONDON:  T.   FISHER  UNWIN 


i?   2. 


•  •     •     -  • 


c       «\    •      • 


LATER    LETTERS 

OF 

EDWARD    LEAR 

Author   of    "THE    BOOK    OF    NONSENSE" 

TO 

CHICHESTER    FORTESCUE 

(LORD   CARLINGFORD) 

FRANCES   COUNTESS   WALDEGRAVE 

AND   OTHERS 


EDITED  BY 

LADY  STRACHEY 

OF 
SUTTON    COURT 


WITH   83    ILLUSTRATIONS 


LONDON:    T.    FISHER   UNWIN 

ADELPHI   TERRACE 

1911 


(All  lights  reserved.) 


^H/U* 


EDITOR'S    NOTE 

IN  November,  1907,  I  published  the  first 
book  of  Lear  letters  to  my  aunt  and 
uncle,  of  which  this  volume  is  a  continuation. 
The  public  both  here  and  in  America 
received  that  volume  in  the  most  kindly- 
spirit,  and  caused  me  to  decide  to  carry  out 
the  suggestion  I  originally  held  out,  that  a 
second  volume  might  be  forthcoming  if  the 
approval  of  the  public  was  assured.  This 
volume  has,  I  fear,  been  much  delayed,  and 
I  would  ask  forgiveness  from  the  many 
who  were  looking  for  it,  for  the  long  lapse 
which  has  occurred  between  the  publication 
of  the  two  volumes.  After  the  publication 
of  the  first  volume  my  eyes  broke  down 
for  a  time,  and  caused  the  imperative  and 
necessary  rest  which  has  resulted  in  over 
three  years  elapsing  before  this  second 
volume  has  been  finally  accomplished.  I 
think  this  explanation  is  due  to  the  many 
lovers    of   the    delightful   letters   of    the   first 

5 


anarrei 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

volume,  and  I  feel  any  annoyance  on  their 
part  at  my  seeming  negligence  to  their  feel- 
ings will  be  now  condoned. 

I  think  I  may  truly  say  that  the  following 
volume  is  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  first — 
in  fact,  my  American  publisher  considers 
it  almost  better — and  I  feel  I  may  in  any 
case  hope  that  the  kind  public  will  take  it 
as  much  to  their  heart  as  they  did  the 
former  one. 

I  have  in  many  ways  gained  various 
sidelights  about  Mr.  Lear  not  known  to 
me  before,  gleaned  from  the  letters  called 
forth  by  the  first  volume  from  friends  and 
persons  who  had  known  him,  and  who  had 
been  deeply  interested  by  those  early  letters. 
Among  them  I  may  mention  Mr.  Hubert 
Congreve,  a  close  friend  of  Lear's  San  Remo 
days,  who  has  most  kindly  written  for  me 
the  delightful  Preface  to  this  book,  a  vivid 
personal  remembrance  of  his  old  friend  and 
would-be  master  in  art. 

Also  Madame  Philipp,  whose  first  husband 
was  the  well-known  Dr.  Hassall  of  San 
Remo,  both  great  personal  friends  of  Mr. 
Lear,  and  the  latter  also  his  medical  adviser 
for  several  years  and  till  his  death.  I  have 
ended    this    book   with    a   touching   letter    to 

6 


Editor's  Note 

myself  from  Madame  Philipp  of  Lear's  last 
days  and  death,  and  also  have  added  a 
short  quotation  from  a  letter  from  Guiseppe 
Orsini,  Lear's  faithful  servant,  sent  by  Sir 
Franklin  Lushington  to  my  uncle  after 
Lear's  death.  These  words  from  eye  wit- 
nesses close  down  the  life  of  a  most  remark- 
able and  lovable  man,  which  otherwise  would 
have  been  left  unknown  ;  when  "  the  sudden 
ceasing  of  that  ceaseless  hand,"  stilled  the 
friendship  that  only  the  coming  of  death 
could  have  stayed  from  writing  himself  to 
his  beloved  friends. 

Besides  these  I  have  also  kindly  had  lent 
to  me  the  miniatures  of  "  Sister  Anne "  so 
like  her  brother  minus  the  spectacles,  show- 
ing the  lovable  elder  sister  and  mother 
combined  she  was  to  her  brother  through  life. 

"  Sister  Mary "  also  who  died  at  sea  on 
her   return   to    England  (see   p.    187,  vol.   i.). 

Mrs.  Allen,  who  is  the  possessor  of  these 
portraits,  was  a  niece,  or  rather  cousin,  of 
"poor  Mary's  unpleasant  husband,"  as  Mr. 
Lear  calls  him  in  his  early  letters,  and  she 
and  her  husband,  the  Rev.  F.  A.  Allen,  write 
me  the  following  interesting  history  of  Mr. 
Boswell  and  his  Lear  wife,  and  thereby 
rather    verify    Mr.    Lear's    epithet    from    the 

7 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Lear  point  of  view.  Mr.  Allen,  in  1908, 
wrote :  "  My  wife  as  a  girl  in  a  country- 
Parsonage  (Fareham),  was  a  great  com- 
panion of  old  Mr.  Boswell,  an  eminent 
amateur  naturalist  and  microscopist,  who 
married  Mary  Lear.  When  over  sixty,  they 
both  migrated  to  New  Zealand,  and  lived 
in  a  hut  in  the  bush.  I  am  afraid  that 
the  hardships  endured  killed  her,  for  she 
died  on  the  voyage  home  (see  p.  187,  vol.  i.). 
We  have  still  a  little  model  in  New 
Zealand  grasses,  etc.,  of  the  hut  in  which 
they  lived.  The  old  gentleman  lived  on  a 
small  annuity  which  he  purchased  at  Fare- 
ham  (Hants),  at  Torquay,  where  he  died 
and  was  buried,  and  left  no  descendants. 
He  was  much  respected  everywhere  and 
was  quite  a  shining  light  in  Natural  History 
Societies,  &c.  He  had  some  patent  process 
which  died  with  him,  for  the  manufacture 
of  slides  for  the  microscope,  and  supplied 
some  of  the  dealers.  He  was  a  most  in- 
teresting well-informed  man.  My  wife 
belonged  to  his  side  of  his  family  and  was 
his  executor,  but  he  had  not  much  to  leave. 
She  called  him  uncle,  but  I  think  he  was 
a  sort  of  cousin.  We  have  one  or  two 
letters   of  Edward  Lear  written  to  his  sister 

8 


,    J  ••  )  •   •  • 

•         *      3    ^»       »  »  3 

a  j       ;>      »     •         • 


MARY   LEAR,   WIFE  OF   RICHARD   BOSWELL. 

{From  miniature,  by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Allen.) 


Editor's  Note 

before  she  left.  They  are  amusing  and  are 
illustrated  in  his  peculiar  style.  My  wife 
has  three  Lear  miniatures. 

"  I.  Of  the  excellent  old  sister  Ann  who 
brought  up  the  others  (see  Introduction,  vol.  i., 
p.   xvii) — a  good   portrait. 

"II.  Of  Mrs.  Boswell  (not  so  good). 

"III.  Containing  silhouettes  (in  black)  of 
Edward  Lear  as  a  lad  or  young  man,  and 
a  sister  (the  ninth  and  youngest  sister). 

44  If  you  ever  bring  out  another  volume  of 
letters  she  might  perhaps  lend  them  for  re- 
production. 

44  P.S. — My  wife's  maiden  name  was  Smith, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  F.  Smith,  late  Vicar 
of  Holy  Trinity,  Fareham,   Hants." 

On  Jan.  19,  191 1,  Mr.  Allen  again  writes: 
"  My  wife  is  the  owner  of  the  three  pictures, 
and  will  be  glad  to  lend  them.  They  came 
into  our  family  this  way,  and  a  note  might 
be  made  of  it.  My  wife's  mother  {jt4e  Payne) 
had  an  uncle,  Mr.  Richard  Shuter  Boswell, 
who  married  Miss  Mary  Lear,  and  took  her 
out  to  New  Zealand  in  1856  or  1858.  In  1863 
he  returned  to  England,  living  first  at  Fare- 
ham,  Hants,  and  then  at  Torquay,  where  he 
died  in  1876,  aged  80,  and  is  buried  in  the 
cemetery  there. 

9 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

"P.S. — My  wife  remembers  that  Mrs. 
Boswell  and  Mr.  B.  went  out  to  N.  Zealand 
with  the  Streets  (nephew — perhaps  he  was 
not  married  then)  and  that  Mrs.  B.  died  and 
was  buried  at  sea  on  her  way  home.  The 
B.'s  were  too  old  to  rough  it  in  the  Bush, 
and  he  was  blamed  for  taking  her  out." 
From  Mrs.  Allen,  Jan.  26,  191 1  : 
"  I  am  glad  that  the  pictures  of  the  Lear 
family  should  be  of  use  to  you  in  your  kind 
undertaking  of  gathering  Edward  Lear's  letters 
together.  I  was  much  interested  in  his  first 
volume,  and  we  shall  indeed  value  the  second. 
You  are  also  quite  welcome  to  mention  any- 
thing about  Uncle  Richard  and  Aunt  Mary 
Boswell.  I  was  quite  a  small  child  when 
they  went  to  New  Zealand  in  /57.  I 
believe  they  visited  my  father  and  mother  at 
Fareham  before  they  left  England :  Aunt 
Mary  died  on  the  voyage  back,  I  think  in 
1 86 1  Uncle  Richard  coming  to  us  at  Fare- 
ham  on  his  reaching  England.  While  at 
Fareham  he  made  and  gave  to  us,  a  little 
model  of  the  hut  he  built  himself  in  the 
bush,  which  he  had  cleared.  I  have  it  now. 
He  died  at  Torquay  in  /j6.  I  enclose  the 
two  letters  of  Ed.  Lear  we  have  as  I  thought 
you  might  be  amused  to  read  them." 

(I  give  these  here.) 
10 


Editor's  Note 

16.  Upper  Seymour  St., 

Portman  Sq., 

i 6.  July. 

My  dear  Mary, — I  hope  to  come  and  see  you  on 
the  24th  at  Leatherhead,  and  to  find  you  very  well 
and  lively.  I  believe  you  and  Mr.  Bos  well  have  done 
the  best  thing  you  can,  in  making  this  plan  of  joining 
Sarah. 

Now  I  want  you  to  take  something  from  your 
shabby  old  brother  as  a  recollection, — but  I  don't 
know  what  to  fix  on  for  you — $£  is  the  big  sum  I 
propose  that  you  should  expend  on  something  quite 
as  a  keepsake — a  kettle,  a  candlestick,  a  looking  glass 
— an  angora  cat — a  barrel  of  wine,  or  whatever  you 
like  best.  But  I  also  want  to  add  20^  to  your  fund 
which  you  are  to  live  on  : — no  large  sum  is  Twenty 
Pounds — but  better  than  a  poke  in  the  eye  with  a 
sharp  stick. — This  however  I  do  not  know  how  to 
bring  to  you, — in  notes  ?  or  should  it  be  paid  into  any 
bank  here  ?  or  do  you  take  all  your  fortune  with  you 
in  a"  pipkin,  gold  and  silver  all  wrapped  up  in  a 
handkerchief  ? 

Just  send  me  a  line  when  you  receive  this — and  tell 
me  how  I  shall  manage — if  I  should  bring  down  all 
the  25 £  in  a  lump  to  you  on  Friday  or  not — or  how. 

Perhaps  you  will  buy  a  small  cow  to  ride  on  in 
New  Zealand.  I  imagine  that  you  and  Sarah  will 
institute  ox  races  in  New  Zealand. 

Please  let  me  hear  from  you  soon  and  believe  me 

Yours  affectionately 

Edward  Lear. 


11 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

16.  Upper  Seymour  Street 

Portman  Square 

ii.  Aug.  1857 

Dear  Mary, — Ann  will  have  written  to  you  that  I 
have  sold  my  picture — so  that  I  am,  for  once  out  of 
debt,  and  have  nearly  one  hundred  pounds  to  begin 
life  with. 

But  this  good  luck  has  much  deranged  my  plans, 
and  I  am  over  head  and  ears  in  business  in  con- 
sequence of  being  obliged  to  send  off  my  picture  at 
once  to  Derbyshire  and  it  will  not  be  at  all  possible 
for  me  to  come  to  see  you  again  before  you  leave 
England. 

You   and    Richard   must    therefore   take   my  best 


wishes  in  writing,  and  remember  that  I  shall  always 
hope  to  hear  of  you  through  Ann.  Tell  Sarah,  with 
my  love  to  her  and  to  all,  that  I  did  begin  to  write  to 
her  and  intended  to  have  written  a  long  letter,  but  I 
really  have  not  had  a  minute  since  I  saw  you — and 
indeed  my  writing  days  are  very  much  finished  and 
done  for. 

Now,  my  dear  Mary,  Good-bye.  When  you  write 
to  Ann,  mention  any  little  thing  that  you  may  want.  I 
may  or  may  not  be  able  to  send  it  you — but  you  know 
what  pleasure  it  will  always  be  to  do  so  if  I  can. 

12 


Editor's  Note 

My  love  to  Richard, — and  best  wishes  for  a  good 
voyage  for  you  and  for  happiness  on  your  arrival. 

Your  affectionate 

Edward  Lear. 

Please  look  well  to  the  ox  on  which  I  am  to  run 
races  against  you  or  yours  when  I  come.  And  do 
not  be  too  anxious  to  climb  up  all  the  tallest  trees  ; 
because  you  aint  used  to  it. 

The  portraits  of  Anne  and  Mary  are  included 
in  this  volume,  and  will  also  add  interest  to  the 
preceding  one,  where  more  mention  is  made 
of  Lear's  sisters. 

The  silhouette  of  Lear  himself  is  extra- 
ordinarily good,  accentuating  with  his  hair  the 
fine  high  forehead  and  very  cone-shaped  top  to 
his  head,  which  in  later  years,  though  quite 
devoid  of  hair,  still  gave  the  striking  egg-like 
appearance.  In  this  early  portrait,  which  is 
so  characteristic,  one  sees  the  coming  man,  the 
promised  aggressiveness  to  be  fulfilled  into 
the  positive,  when  in  later  life  he  did  not  fancy 
people  or  they  happened  to  be  Germans  ! 

Again,  I  should  like  to  make  mention  of 
the  wonderful  Sarah  Street  (Lear)  and  her 
daughter-in-law  Sophie,  mentioned  at  p.  153, 
vol.  i.,  1859.  "  Sarah  is  on  her  way  home, 
and  her  leaving  the  Warepa  seems  to  me,  a  sort 
of  signal  of  break-up  in  her  family,  added  to 

13 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

by  my  nephew's  wifes  illness,  one  of  increasing 
incurability  it  appears  to  me,  and  which  I 
suppose  has  very  much  altered  their  views  and 
plans."  Since  that  paragraph  was  printed  I  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  making  the  acquaintance 
of  Mrs.  Michell,  of  Cambridge  {jtde  Gillies),  and 
granddaughter  of  the  said  Sophie.  She  tells  me 
that  her  grandmother  recovered  and  is  still  alive 
in  New  Zealand,  a  beautiful  old  lady  now  aged 
eighty-six,  quite  as  wonderful  a  woman  as 
Sarah,  and  a  far  more  attractive  one.  She  is 
loved  by  young  and  old  around  her  home,  and 
is  still  the  life  and  soul  of  everything  that  takes 
place.  She  was  a  Miss  Dabbinett  of  Curry 
Rivel. 

Mrs.  Michell  last  month,  when  I  specially 
went  to  Cambridge  to  see  her,  was  just  start- 
ing on  a  holiday  with  her  beautiful  little  son 
of  five,  for  a  three  months'  stay  with  her  people 
in  New  Zealand.  Sarah's  son,  C.  H.  Street, 
married  Miss  Dabbinett,  and  their  only 
daughter  married  a  Mr.  Gillies,  whose  death 
and  that  of  C.  H.  Street  within  a  very  short 
time  of  each  other,  Lear  grieves  about,  at 
page  356,  in  this  volume. 

Mrs.  Gillies  was  left  with  nine  children,  seven 
of  whom  are  alive,  and  Mrs.  Michell  is  one  of 
the    two    daughters    among   these.     But    the 

14 


Editor's  Note 

Streets  had  all  along  prospered,  and  they  have 
a  beautiful  home  "  Kohanga,"  at  Parnell, 
Auckland. 

They  possess  vast  stores  of  Lear's  drawings 
and  diaries,  most  of  them  given  to  them  as 
executor  by  Sir  Franklin  Lushington,  and 
letters  also  from  all  the  sisters,  as  well  as 
mementos  belonging  to  the  latter.  Mrs. 
Michell  had  not  time  to  show  me  the  pearls 
belonging  to  Sarah,  a  carved  rosewood  table 
which  came  down  through  Aunt  Anne,  and 
some  old  china  left  by  Aunt  Ellinor  (Newsom). 
But  she  showed  me  some  exquisite  little  draw- 
ings given  her  by  her  mother  as  a  wedding  gift 
one  evidently  a  study  for  Lady  Waldegrave's 
(now  belonging  to  Mr.  Fortescue  Urquhart,  at 
Oxford)  beautiful  Villa  Petraja,  and  a  highly 
finished  set  of  four  drawings  in  black  and  white, 
one  special  one  of  mountains  with  deep  shadows, 
a  perfect  gem  of  black  and  white  values. 

Again,  I  have  to  thank  Lord  Northbrook 
for  his  kindness  in  lending  me  the  beautiful 
water-colour  sketches  done  in  India  by  Lear 
when  there  by  his  father's  invitation,  which 
are  included  in  this  book. 

To  Mr.  Congreve  my  thanks  are  also  due  for 
his  interesting  sketches  in  sepia  of  Ceriana  and 
Tenda. 

15 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Also,  to  Canon  Church  for  the  two  ex- 
quisite sketches  done  during  the  tour  Mr.  Lear 
and  he  took  together  and  of  which  mention 
is  made  in  the  beginning  of  the  first  volume. 

To  my  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Shaw,  for  the  loan 
of  the  water  colour  of  "  Becky,"  the  Robinson 
parrot,  showing  another  side  of  Lear's  work. 

To  Mrs.  Charles  Roundell,  for  her  permitting 
the  reproductions  of  her  very  fine  examples, 
"The  Pinewoods  of  Ravenna,"  and  "  Cenc, 
Island  of  Gozo,  Malta." 

To  the  Director  of  the  Fitzwilliam  Museum, 
for  allowing  a  reproduction  of  the  great  oil 
painting  of  Bassae,  subscribed  for  by  friends 
(see  p.   155,  vol.  i.)  in  1859. 

To  Lord  Tennyson,  for  allowing  his  sonnet 
on  the  Villa  Tennyson  to  be  included  ;  and 
to  Lord  Avebury,  for  his  permission  to  print 
his  Lear  letter  on  "Insects"  (see  Appendix). 

CONSTANCE  STRACHEY. 
Sutton  Court,  Feb.,  191 1. 


16 


PREFACE 

/^^NE  evening  in  the  early  autumn  of 
r*+S  1869,  when  quite  a  small  boy,  I  ran 
down  the  steep  path  which  led  up  to  our 
house  at  San  Remo  to  meet  my  father ; 
I  found  him  accompanied  by  a  tall,  heavily- 
built  gentleman,  with  a  large  curly  beard 
and  wearing  well-made  but  unusually  loosely 

Slitting  clothes,  and  what  at  the  time  struck 
me  most  of  all,  very  large,  round  spectacles. 
He  at  once  asked  me  if  I  knew  who  he 
was,  and  without  waiting  for  a  reply  pro- 
ceeded to  tell  me  a  long,  nonsense  name, 
compounded  of  all  the  languages  he  knew, 
and  with  which  he  was  always  quite  pat. 
This  completed  my  discomfiture,  and  made 
me  feel  very  awkward  and  self-conscious. 
My  new  acquaintance  seemed  to  perceive  this 
at  once,  and,  laying  his  hand  on  my  shoulder, 
said,  "  I  am  also  the  Old  Derry  Down 
Derry,  who  loves  to  see  little  folks  merry, 
and  I  hope  we  shall  be  good  friends."     This 

17  B 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

was  said  with  a  wonderful  charm  of  manner 
and  voice,  and  accompanied  with  such  a 
genial,  yet  quizzical  smile,  as  to  put  me  at 
my  ease  at  once.  This  was  my  first  meeting 
with  Edward  Lear,  who  from  that  day  to  his 
death  was  my  dearest  and  best  friend  of  the 
older  generation,  and  who  for  nineteen  years 
stood  in  almost  a  paternal  relation  to  me. 

His  letters  contained  in  this  volume,  and 
those  already  published  by  Lady  Strachey, 
tell  a  portion  of  his  life's  story,  and  reveal 
his  versatile,  eccentric  genius  and  character. 
But  to  those  who  first  make  his  acquaint- 
ance in  this  volume  some  account  of  the 
man  as  he  was  to  those  who  knew  him  inti- 
mately, and  loved  him  truly,  may  be  of 
interest  and  assistance.  At  the  time  of  our 
first  meeting  he  was  fifty-seven,  having  been 
born,  I  believe,  at  Highgate,  on  May  12,  181 2. 
He  was  the  youngest  of  a  large  family  of 
Danish  extraction,  the  spelling  of  his  name 
having  been  altered  by  his  grandfather  to 
suit  English  pronunciation,  as  he  says  in  a 
letter  written  December  31,  1882,  u  My  own 
(name)  as  I  think  you  know  is  really  L0R,  but 
my  Danish  Grandfather  picked  off  the  two 
dots   and   pulled   out    the   diagonal   line   and 

made  the  word    Lear  (the   two  dots  and  the 

18 


Preface 

line  and  the  O  representing  the  sound — ea). 
If  he  threw  away  the  line  and  the  dots  only 
he  would  be  called  Mr.  Lor,  which  he  didn't 
like." 

Soon  after  our  first  meeting  he  bought  a 
plot  of  land  on  the  hill-side  adjoining  my 
father's  property  at  San  Remo,  and  at  once 
began  the  building  of  the  Villa  Emily,  which 
later  on  was  the  cause  of  so  much  trouble 
and  sorrow  to  him.  He  soon  became  very 
intimate  with  us,  and  was  a  constant  visitor 
at  our  house,  dropping  in  often  at  our  mid- 
day meal,  when  he  would  sit,  generally  with- 
out taking  anything  beyond  a  glass  of  his 
favourite  Marsala,  and  talk  in  the  most 
delightful  and  interesting  way  of  his  garden, 
his  travels,  people  he  had  met,  birds,  botany, 
music,  and  on  general  topics  interspersed  with 
humour,  which  was  never  long  absent,  and 
(I  am  sorry  to  say)  with  puns  also :  he  was 
as  inveterate  a  punster  as  Charles  Lamb ! 
After  his  day's  work  was  over  he  would  fre- 
quently stroll  in  again  for  an  evening  walk 
and  chat,  occasionally  staying  till  quite  late, 
and  delighting  us  all  by  singing  his  "  Tenny- 
son Songs,"  set  to  music  by  himself,  which 
he  sang  with  great  feeling  and  expression, 
and  with  what  must  have  been  at  one  time  a 

19 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

fine  tenor  voice.  He  accompanied  himself  on 
the  piano  with  spread  chords,  of  which  he 
was  very  fond.  He  generally  finished  up  with 
some  humorous  songs,  sung  with  great  spirit, 
our  favourite  being  "The  Cork  Leg." 

He  was  always  full  of  interest  in  our 
doings,  and  a  week  seldom  passed  without 
his  bringing  us  a  nonsense  poem  or  a  funny 
drawing  of  some  event  in  our  lives,  or  of 
some  plant  which  had  flowered  in  our  gardens. 

Unfortunately  all  these  treasures  perished, 
along  with  many  others,  in  that  not  very 
safe  deposit — a  boys  pocket.  Occasionally 
we  were  invited  to  dine  with  him,  when  he 
always  sent  a  nonsense  menu.  One  of  these 
I  still  have,  written  shortly  after  the  arrival 
of  his  favourite  cat,  Foss.     It  reads : — 


Pot  age 

..     Potage  au  Petit  Puss. 

{Pour  Poisson)     .. 

..     Queues  de  chat,  a  T Aiguille. 

ist  Entr&e 

..     Orielles  de  Chat,  frites  a  la  Kil- 

kenny. 

Pattes  du  Chat — aux  chataignes. 

2nd  Entrde 

..     Cotelettes  de  petit  chat  (sauce 

doigts    de  pied  de  Martyr — 

Tomata  Sauce.) 

Roti          

...     Gros  Chat  Noir. 

Pour  Legume 

..     De  Terre — sans  pommes.     Pe- 

tite    pierres    cuites    a   l'eau 

chaude. 

20 


m^ 


Preface 

Gibier      ....  ....     Croquet  aux  balles. 

Canards  de  Malta. 

Sauce  au  poivre, 
Sauce  au  sel. 
Patisserie  ....     Pat6  de  vers  de  soie  au  sucre, 

Breadcrumbs  a  l'Oliver  Crom- 
well (all  of  a  crumble). 
Boudin  de  Milles  Mouches. 
Comp6t  de  Mouches  Noires. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  always  had  soup, 
mutton,  pilaf,  and  a  plain  pudding,  his  faithful 
old  Suliot  servant,  Giorgio  Cocali,  usually- 
known  as  George,  not  being  strong  as  a  cook. 
Next  day  we  generally  received  an  extract 
which  he  professed  he  had  copied  from  the 
Court  Journal  of  the  day,  enumerating  the 
large  number  of  distinguished  people  who  had 
dined  with  the  "  Author  of  the  Book  of  Non- 
sense," though  the  description,  cleverly  varied, 
all  applied  to  three  individuals. 

His  usual  description  of  himself  was  the 
"  Author  of  the  Book  of  Nonsense," 
occasionally  "  A  Nartist  Cove  named  Lear," 
and  I  have  always  believed  that  in  his  heart 
of  hearts,  he  was  prouder  of  his  "  Book  of 
Nonsense"  than  of  his  paintings.  I  remem- 
ber, when  the  " Second  Book  of  Nonsense" 
was  published,  the  delight  a  favourable  review 

21 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

would  cause  him  ;  he  beamed  as  he  read  it 
out  to  me ;  and  how  he  chafed  under  an 
unfavourable  notice.  Yet  criticisms  of  his 
pictures  he  always  took  unconcernedly,  and 
would  frequently  laugh  over  them.  I  often 
heard  him  repeat  the  story  of  a  brother 
artist  who  came  to  see  his  paintings,  and 
asked,  "What  sort  of  tree  do  you  call  that, 
Lear?"  "An  olive;  perhaps  you  have 
never  seen  one,"  was  Lear's  reply.  "  No, 
and  don't  want  to  if  they  are  like  that," 
was  the  retort.  But  I  never  knew  him 
repeat  any  story  telling  against  his  Non- 
sense, and  Ruskin's  praise  was  very  dear 
to  him. 

He  was  very  fond  of  having  me  in  to 
look  at  his  sketches,  and  my  interest  in 
them  led  to  his  giving  me  and  my  brother 
lessons  in  drawing.  Writing  to  me  in 
February,  1883,  he  says,  "  Funnily  enough, 
on  looking  yesterday  at  an  old  diary,  1871, 
I  found  this  'entry/  'Gave  the  two  young 
Congreves  their  first  lesson  in  drawing ; 
they  are  the  nicest  little  coves  possible." 
He  always  had  a  very  weak  spot  in  his 
heart  for  children  and  young  folk.  These 
lessons    were    some    of    the    most    delightful 

experiences  of  my  young  days,  as  they  were 

22 


Preface 

accompanied  with  running  comments  on  art, 
drawing,  nature,  scenery,  and  his  travels 
mixed  up  with  directions  for  our  work, 
and  led  to  his  setting  his  heart  on  my  taking 
up  art  as  a  profession,  and  on  my  living 
with  him  later  on,  He  always  dreaded  a 
lonely  old  age,  and  unfortunately  he  had  to 
endure  a  very  lonely  one. 

For  some  years  prior  to  1877  I  was  fre- 
quently with  him  in  his  studio,  and  we  also 
went  sketching  expeditions  together,  Lear 
plodding  slowly  along,  old  George  following 
behind,  laden  with  lunch  and  drawing 
materials.  When  we  came  to  a  good  subject, 
Lear  would  sit  down,  and  taking  his  block 
from  George,  would  lift  his  spectacles,  and 
gaze  for  several  minutes  at  the  scene  through 
a  monocular  glass  he  always  carried ;  then, 
laying  down  the  glass,  and  adjusting  his 
spectacles,  he  would  put  on  paper  the  view 
before  us,  mountain  range,  villages  and 
foreground,  with  a  rapidity  and  accuracy 
that  inspired  me  with  awestruck  admiration. 
Whatever  may  be  the  final  verdict  on  his 
" Topographies"  (as  he  called  his  works  in 
oil  or  water  colour),  no  one  can  deny  the 
great    cleverness    and    power    of    his    artist's 

sketches.     They  were   always   done   in   pencil 

23 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

on  the  ground,  and  then  inked  in  in  sepia 
and  brush  washed  with  colour  in  the  winter 
evenings.  He  was  an  indefatigable  worker, 
and  at  his  death  left  over  10,000  large  card- 
board sheets  of  sketches.  Writing  in  1883, 
when  he  was  seventy-one,  he  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  of  his  days  work : 

"  In  general  I  live  in  a  mucilaginous  monotony  of 
submarine  solitude.  My  life  goes  thus,  and  I  cannot 
say  I  find  the  days  long.  I  rise  partly  at  five  or 
six  and  read  till  seven,  when  Mitri  brings  a  cup 
of  coffee.  Then  comes  whole  rising — tub  etc. — 
and  arrangement  of  studio  palettes  etc. — letters  to 
read — till  8-30,  when  I  get  a  big  cup  of  cocoa,  one 
egg  and  a  tiece  of  poast.  Work  till  near  twelve, 
when  lunch  and  Barolo.  Sometimes  half  an  hour's 
sleep,  but  more  frequently  work  again  till  4  or  3-30. 
Then  hear  my  two  Suliots  lessons  and  walk  in 
the  garden  till  six,  and  on  the  terrace  till  6-15. 
Visit  to  the  kitchen  for  15  minutes,  then  Dinner — 
two  objects  only — soup  and  meat ;  only  latterly 
Nicola  has  taken  to  make  lovely  boiled  rice  puddings. 
After  dinner  'pen  out'  drawings  till  8-15.  Next 
have  a  cup  of  tea — brought  to  my  room  by  the  lad 
Dimitri,  who  says  the  Lord's  prayer  and  exit.  After 
some  more  reading,  I  get  to  sleep  before  ten  mostly. 
There  is  accounts — research  once  a  week,  the  accounts 
being  kept  with  perfect  clearness  and  accuracy  by 
Nicola,  usually  averaging  ;£  1-5/- for  myself  weekly. 
As  for  work,  the  big  Athos  keeps  progressing  by 
phitz ;  and  so  does  the  big  Ravenna,  and  Esa,  and 

24 


Preface 

Moonlight  on  still  waters,  and  Gwalior  and  Argos — 
which  last  I  have  been  at  all  this  week  past,  and 
which  I  fancy  will  be  one  of  the  best  works  of 
Mr.  Lear's  fancy  (though  perhaps  you  may  say, 
"  Ah  Goose!  perhaps  it  isn't.")  But  it  is  getting  too 
cold  to  work  upstairs  in  that  big  room,  so  I  mean 
now  to  overhaul  the  4  water-colour  drawings  which 
are  already  far  advanced.  Also  I  go  on  irregularly 
at  the  J^l  [Alfred  Tennyson]  illustrations — vainly 
hitherto  seeking  a  method  of  doing  them  by  which 
I  can  eventually  multiply  my  200  designs  by  photo- 
graph or  autograph,  or  sneezigraph  or  any  other 
graph.  In  addition  to  all  this,  I  am  at  present 
frequently  occupied  in  cutting,  measuring,  squaring, 
and  mounting  on  coloured  paper,  all  the  sketches 
I  did  this  autumn — all  very  bad,  though  correct 
and  not  uninteresting.  Perugia,  Abetone,  the  Pineta 
of  Pisa,  etc. — with — above  all,  three  very  long  ones 
taken  from  the  new  Bellavista  at  M.  G.  [Monte 
Generoso]  just  before  dear  old  George  died.  I 
hope  some  day  yet  to  make  a  long  Water  Colour 
Drawing  from  them.  There,  my  chicken !  don't  go 
for  to  say  I  ain't  industrious  at  72  ! 


To  spend  an  evening  looking  through  a 
set  of  his  sketches  and  listening  to  his 
remarks  upon  them  and  all  that  had  hap- 
pened to  him  while  they  were  being  made, 
was  a  most  interesting  and  instructive 
experience,  and  left  the  impression  that  I 
had   actually   seen   the   original    places   them- 

25 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

selves.  One  evening  at  dinner  I  sat  next  a 
lady  who  had  just  come  from  Malta.  I 
knew  Lears  sketches  of  Malta  by  heart,  so 
we  got  along  famously.  At  last  she  said, 
"I  see  you  know  Malta  much  better  than  I 
do  ;  I  have  only  been  there  for  three  months." 
"  I  have  never  been  there  at  all ;  I  have  only 
seen  Mr.  Lears  sketches/'  I  replied. 

In  the  early  seventies,  Lear  went  on  a 
sketching  tour  in  India,  at  the  invitation  of 
his  friend,  Lord  Northbrook,  then  Viceroy, 
and  while  he  was  away  from  home  I  had 
charge  of  his  house  and  garden.  During  his 
absence  he  wrote  me  regularly  twice  a  month 
long  letters,  full  of  varied  interest  and  vivid 
descriptions  of  the  scenery,  plant  life,  birds, 
and  people  he  met.  Just  before  his  return 
the  Villa  Emily  was  broken  into,  and  though 
I  could  never  find  that  anything  was  actually 
stolen,  the  thieves  made  a  sad  mess  in  their 
search  for  valuables,  and  Lear  never  forgot 
or  forgave  it.  From  that  day  if  anything 
were  not  forthcoming  it  was  stolen  when  the 
robbery  took  place.  The  damage  the  thieves 
did  was  as  useful  as  in  the  case  of  Caleb 
Balderstone !  Lear  brought  back  with  him  a 
wonderful  collection  of  sketches  and  a  quan- 
tity   of    seeds    of    Indian     flowers,    and    his 

26 


Preface 

interest  in  acclimatising  these  last  was  very 
great,  and  his  delight  at  his  success  with  the 
ipomaeas  unbounded.  In  October,  1882,  after 
he  had  moved  them  to  his  new  garden  at 
the  Villa  Tennyson,  he  writes:  "  The  Indian 
Ipomaeas — of  four  sorts — have  been  a  wonder 
to  see." 

Soon  after  his  return  from  India,  in  the 
early  spring  of  1877,  his  old  servant  George's 
health  began  to  fail,  and  it  was  decided  that 
he  was  to  go  back  for  a  change  to  Corfu. 
Lear,  with  his  usual  kindness,  decided  on 
taking  him  back  himself.  So  one  day  late 
in  February  Lear,  George,  and  his  son  and 
myself  set  off  for  the  Ionian  Isles.  As  we 
started  Lear  thrust  a  bundle  of  bank-notes 
into  my  hand  without  even  counting  them, 
all  money  transactions  being,  as  he  said, 
"An  nabbomination  to  this  child."  We 
stopped  for  a  day  at  Bologna,  where  Lear 
threw  off  the  melancholy  which  had  hung 
heavily  on  him  throughout  the  journey  ;  and 
we  spent  a  busy  day  in  visiting  scenes  with 
which  he  was  familiar.  His  interest  in  the 
Etruscan  remains,  and  the  delight  with  which 
he  pointed  out  all  that  there  was  of  beauty 
and  interest  in  the  wonderful  old  town,  and  in 

its  galleries  and  museums,  was  almost  boyish. 

27 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Early  next  morning,  at  2  a.m.,  we  started 

on   the   long   railway  journey  to   Brindisi   in 

bitterly  cold   weather,   and    Lear,   who    could 

never  stand  a  long  railway  journey,  became  a 

prey  to  deep  despondency,  and   I  had  a  hard 

task  to  cheer  him  up  and  dispel  his  gloomy 

forebodings.     However,  at  Brindisi  we  found 

deep  snow  and  a  strong  gale  blowing,  and  I 

shall  never   forget  the  night   we  spent  there. 

It   was   cold   and    wretched   in    the    extreme, 

and     Lear     was     thoroughly     dejected ;     and 

though   a    fowl   we   had   for   dinner — roasted, 

boiled,    and   then    browned   over,    and    which 

collapsed   on   being    touched — roused   him   to 

make   some  jokes   about   the   effects  of  snow 

on    hens,    all    his    fun    vanished     when     we 

got  into  beds  with  a  single  thin  blanket  each 

in    a   room   with    the   fine    snow   drifting    in 

through   the   badly   fitting    windows,    and   he 

spent  the  night  tossing  about   and   moaning, 

thoroughly  upset  by  the  long  journey  and  his 

anxiety  about  his  old  servant.     Next  day  the 

gale   had   increased   in   force,    and    I    became 

very  anxious  about  my  old  friend's  state,   so 

I    encouraged   his    disinclination   to    face    the 

sea  voyage,   for   I   knew   that   he   was   a   bad 

sailor.     Finally   it   was   decided    that   George 

and  his  son  should  go  on  to  Corftl  by  them- 

28 


Preface 

selves,  and  that  we  should  go  to  Naples  and 
Rome.  So  after  seeing  George  off  we  started 
for  Naples,  which  we  reached  early  next 
morning  in  warm  and  brilliant  sunshine,  and 
Lear  at  once  began  to  revive.  At  the  station 
I  had  to  leave  him  for  a  few  miuutes  to  look 
after  our  luggage.  I  found  him  again  out- 
side the  station,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of 
outporters,  all  struggling  to  get  hold  of  his 
bag,  Lear  hitting  out  right  and  left  and 
shouting  "  Via,  via,  pellandroni,"  the  scamps 
all  enjoying  the,  to  them,  good  fun.  The 
scene  was  so  irresistibly  funny  that  I  was 
helpless  with  laughter,  and  before  I  could 
intervene  my  old  friend  had  tumbled  into 
the  wrong  'bus,  out  of  which  nothing  would 
move  him,  and  so  we  were  driven  off  to  an 
hotel  at  which  we  had  had  no  intention  of 
staying,  Lear,  on  the  way  there,  giving  me 
a  long  lecture  on  the  care  I  must  take  while 
we  were  in  Naples,  as  the  Neapolitans  were 
the  greatest  scoundrels  he  had  ever  met !  We 
spent  two  days  at  Naples,  visiting  Baiae, 
Pompeii,  &c,  Lear  pointing  out  every  object, 
each  point  of  view,  and  dwelling  on  the  his- 
torical or  other  associations  with  eager  interest 
in  my  unrestrained  delight  at  all  we  saw. 
We  then  went  on  to  Rome,  and  the  week 

29 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

we  were  there  was  one  of  the  fullest  and 
happiest  we  ever  spent  together.  No  one 
knew  his  Rome  better  than  Lear,  and  in  a 
week  he  had  shown  me  more  of  the  wonders 
and  beauties  of  the  old  city  and  its  surround- 
ings than  most  people  see  in  three  months. 
We  spent  a  Sunday  at  Tivoli,  where  the 
changed  conditions  due  to  the  union  with 
Italy  struck  him  very  much.  "  Why !  last 
time  I  was  here,"  he  said,  as  we  strolled  up 
the  main  street  of  the  old  town,  "  I  saw  two 
men  stabbed,  and  had  to  fly  for  fear  of  being 
dragged  in  as  a  witness,  and  that,  my  boy, 
was  almost  as  bad  as  being  a  criminal ! " 
And  then  he  told  me  how,  in  a  neigh- 
bouring village,  where  he  spent  some  weeks 
sketching,  he  was  robbed  of  all  his  money 
by  his  landlady,  who,  on  his  expostulating 
at  the  enormities  of  her  bill,  put  her  back 
against  the  door  and  said,  "When  I  catch 
larks  I  don't  let  them  go  without  plucking 
them."  We  met  in  the  evening  in  our  hotel 
an  old  lady  who  greatly  attracted  Lear,  and 
they  had  a  long  conversation  on  poetry  and 
music;  after  dinner  she  mentioned  Tennyson's 
song,  "Home  they  brought  her  warrior  dead." 
Lear  at  once  went  to  the  piano  and  sang  his 
own  setting  of  the  words   in   a  voice  hollow 

30 


Preface 

with  age,  but  with  great  style  and  deep 
feeling  and  accompanied  with  his  favourite 
open  chords,  and  he  brought  tears  into  the 
old  lady's  eyes.  "Why!"  she  exclaimed, 
M  that  is  the  setting  I  referred  to  ;  do  please 
tell  me  whose  it  is."  "  It  is  mine,"  replied 
Lear,  and  seeing  the  old  lady's  evident 
pleasure  he  sat  down  again  and  sang  several 
of  the  Tennyson  songs  he  had  set  to  music, 
and  the  room  filled  with  attentive  listeners. 
As  soon  as  he  became  aware  of  their  presence 
he  got  up,  and  with  an  abrupt  V  Good-night " 
retired.  A  sudden  change  of  feeling  and 
manner  to  casual  acquaintances  was  one  of  his 
characteristics,  and  I  remember  many  funny 
instances  of  this  feature  of  his  character. 

The  only  cloud  that  ever  came  over  our 
friendship  was  in  1877  when  I  decided 
that  I  had  no  real  vocation  for  art.  This 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  my  old  friend, 
and  for  some  months  we  scarcely  saw  each 
other.  Just  before  I  left  San  Remo,  he  be- 
came reconciled  to  my  plans  and  entered 
fully  into  them,  and  up  to  a  year  before 
his  death  continued  to  write  me  letters  full 
of  affectionate  interest  in  my  life,  and  of 
accounts  of  his  garden  and  of  his  old 
friends  who  had  been  to  see  him. 

31 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Shortly  after  my  departure  began  the 
trouble  which  saddened  and  embittered  his 
remaining  years  and  led  to  his  selling 
the  Villa  Emily  and  building  the  Villa 
Tennyson,  in  a  position  in  which  it  was 
impossible  that  he  could  again  have  his 
view  over  land  and  sea  ruined.  The  result 
of  building  a  large  hotel  in  front  of  his  old 
house  is  best  described  in  his  own  words, 
written  on  the  16th  of  November,   1879: 

It  is  not  yet  settled  whether  I  go  out  to  New 
Zealand,  and  certainly  a  good  deal  of  new  zeal  and 
energy  will  be  necessary  on  my  part  if  I  do  resolve 
to  go.  If  I  can  succeed  in  getting  other  land,  I 
shall  buy  and  rebuild,  for  Lords  Northbrook  and 
Derby  have,  in  the  kindest  way  possible,  put  me 
in  to  a  position  to  do  so.  But  as  yet  it  seems  impos- 
sible to  get  such  land  as  would  suit,  for  I  would 
not  live  on  the  East  side  of  Sanremo,  nor  could  I 
afford  to  live  far  from  the  town  at  all.  ...  I  only 
intend  to  go  to  ^2000,  or  at  most,  ^2500,  and 
if  I  cannot  see  my  way  to  that  by  Easter,  I 
intend  to  give  up  all  and  go  to  Auckland.  It 
is  quite  useless  for  me  to  try  and  live  on  in  this 
house,  having  been  used  to  blue  sea,  and  moreover 
being  blinded  every  time  I  look  up — so  that  I 
never  now  can  walk  on  my  terrace,  nor  do  I  go 
into  my  garden  at  all.  As  for  the  painting  light, 
Gastaldi  made  me  a  window  in  the  room  looking 
West,  but    I    cannot  work  in  it  for  want  of  space  ; 

32 


Preface 

and  now  he  has  made  me  another  on  the  East 
side  of  my  Studio — which  may  or  may  not  do — 
but  is  sure  to  make  the  room  cold.  Your  idea 
of  the  skylight  might  be  carried  out  by  some  artists, 
but  I  am  not  able  to  work  with  a  light  from  above, 
nor  can  I  within  four  walls,  and  no  outer  view. 
Thank  you  my  dear  boy,  Hubert,  for  wishing  to 
keep  me  in  a  place  which  has  been  a  happy  home 
for  nine  years,  none  the  less  so  from  your  own 
excellent  qualities  having  aided  to  made  it  so  : — 
but  you  will  see  from  what  I  have  written  that 
my  remaining  here  is  very  doubtful. 

He  shortly  after  built  the  Villa  Tennyson, 
and  though  he  never  really  got  over  the 
irritation  caused  by  his  having  to  leave  his 
old  house,  he  became  keenly  interested  in  his 
new  garden  and  was  able  to  get  a  great 
deal  of  pleasure  out  of  it.  Writing  in 
September,   1881,  he  says: 

The  garden  has  made  a  progress  I  did  not 
at  all  look  for,  and  the  upper  terrace  might  be 
three  years  instead  of  three  months  old.  Ipomceas 
of  four  sorts,  Tecomas  of  two,  with  many  other 
flowers  are  splendid.  The  Mandarin  oranges  have 
suffered  naturally,  and  if  they  survive  must  con- 
tinue to  do  so  until  the  Myoperum  trees  have 
grown  up  as  a  shelter  from  the  sea-wind : — but 
these  same  trees  have  already  grown  two  feet 
since  they  were  planted  in  June,  and  the  Eucalyptuses 
three. 

33  c 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

All  the  remaining  letters  I  have  are 
tinged  with  deep  melancholy,  and  show  that 
his  health  was  gradually  failing.  In  a  fit 
of  depression  he  writes  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember,  1 88 1  : 

I  am  about  to  make  a  new  arrangement  at 
the  end  of  1881,  i.e.,  to  correspond  only  with 
those  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  writing  to  since 
1850 — 32  years.  This  space  includes  Lushington 
and  Tennyson,  Husey  Hunts  and  Holman  Hunts, 
Unwins,  Clives  and  Lyttletons,  Barings,  Fortescue, 
H.  Seymour,  Lord  Somers,  Francillons,  Wilkie 
Collins,  my  sister  and  nephew  and  some  others, 
and  many  of  them  disappear  gradually  by  death, 
being  mostly  of  my  own  age  or  nearly  so.  This 
change — absolutely  necessary  to  my  sight,  will 
"disfranchise"  all  writers  since  1850 — some  four 
score  or  more — and  among  them  I  am  sorry  your 
name  occurs,  but  it  cannot  be  helped. 

He  did  not,  I  am  glad  to  say,  carry  out 
this  threat,  and  continued  to  write  regularly 
up  to  1886,  letters  full  of  interest  and  kindly 
advice,  always  enlivened  with  his  quaint 
humour. 

That's  enough  about  your  2nd  letter,  and  before 
I  begin  on  that  of  June  6th,  I'll  have  a  "  baruffa," 
as   George    calls    it,    with   you.     Your   writing   gets 

34 


Preface 

worse    and    worse     and    worse    and    worse,    many- 


words  are  wholly  illegible,  for  you  do  not  join 
or    form    your    letters,    but    write     «^c-*>e>ex^     like 

that,  so  that  any  word  may  be  Caterpillar,  or  Con- 
volvulus, or  Crabapple,  or  Cucumber.  By  the  time 
you  are  a  head  Engineer  no  one  will  be  able  to 
make  out  a  single  word  of  your  Cacography. 

A  prophecy  which,  I  am  afraid,  has  been 
very  nearly  realised!  In  the  spring  of  1880 
Lear  came  to  England  for  his  last  visit 
and  private  exhibition  of  his  drawings.  I 
was  in  London  at  the  time  and  we  spent 
many  happy  evenings  together  ;  one  especially 
dwells  in  my  memory.  I  had  just  finished 
my  exam,  at  King's  College,  and  he  carried 
me  off  to  dine  with  him  at  the  Zoological 
Gardens.  "  You  are  just  beginning  the  battle 
of  life,,,  he  said,  "and  we  will  spend  the 
evening  where  I  began  it."  It  was  a 
beautiful  evening  in  July  and  we  dined  in 
the  open  and  sat  under  the  trees  till  the 
gardens  closed,  he  telling  me  all  the  story 
of  his  boyhood  and  early  struggles,  and  of 
his  meeting  with  Lord  Derby  in  those 
gardens,  and  the  outcome  of  that  meeting — 
the  now  famous  book,  "  The  Knowsley  Mena- 
gerie."     I    never     spent     a     more    enjoyable 

35 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

evening  with  him,  and  Lear,  when  at  his  best, 
was  the  most  inspiring  and  delightful  of 
companions.  He  was  then  absolutely  natural, 
and  we  were  like  youths  together,  despite 
the  forty  and  more  years  that  lay  between  us. 
Later  in  the  summer  I  joined  him  at 
Mendrisio,  and  spent  a  very  happy  week  with 
him.  We  walked  up  to  the  Monte  Generoso, 
Lear  plodding  along  with  his  heavy  step  at 
a  pace  of  about  two  miles  an  hour,  and 
frequently  pulling  up  to  admire  the  view 
and  to  exclaim,  "  O  mi !  ain't  it  fine ! "  or  to 
tell  me  some  story.  From  Monte  Generoso 
we  went  on  to  Varese  and  spent  a  day  visit- 
ing the  Sacro  Monte  di  Varese,  with  Miss 
Mundella,  a  daughter  of  the  then  Vice- 
President  of  Committee  for  Education,  and 
it  was  very  beautiful  to  see  the  old  man's 
care  and  gallantry  in  looking  after  his  fair 
companion.  A  week  later  at  San  Remo  I 
saw  him  for  the  last  time  and  had  a  very  sad 
parting  with  my  dear  old  friend,  who  com- 
pletely broke  down.  His  last  letter  was 
written  to  me  on  December  26th,   1886: 

Many  thanks  for  yours  of  the  22nd,  and  for 
your  good  wishes,  though  they  come  when  I  am 
miserable  enough.  It  is  true  the  fierce  rheumatism 
has  gone,  .  .  .  but  I  am  wholly  feeble,  and  only  now 

36 


Preface 

begin  to  use  my  right  limb.  In  the  midst  of  this 
Luigi  goes  away — he  finds  the  work  more  than  he 
can  do — which  I  don't  wonder  at.  I  had  at  first 
decided  to  take  a  room  up  at  the  Royal  Hotel,  but 
Hassall,  wisely,  I  think,  says  I  could  not  have  the 
same  attention  there,  and  must  anyhow  have  a  per- 
sonal attendant  and  a  cook.  These  have  now  to  be 
sought  for — all  which  is  a  misery — considering  how 
fixed  and  comfortable  I  was.  Luigi's  three  years 
service  have  shown  him  to  be  a  most  excellent, 
handy,    and    trustworthy    fellow,    and    I    regret    his 

going.     As  for  C ,  cook,  he  is  nothing  particular, 

only  very  lazy,  and  I  think,  dirty.  To-day  my  cough 
is  better,  but  I  am  in  a  very  delicate  condition. 

He  died  at  the  Villa  Tennyson  on  the 
29th  of  January,  1888,  and  with  him  passed 
away,  not  a  great  painter,  but  a  man  of 
versatile  and  original  genius,  with  great 
gifts,  one  of  the  most  interesting,  affectionate, 
and  lovable  characters  it  has  been  my  good 
fortune  to  know  and  to  love.  He  was  a  real 
personality. 

HUBERT   CONGREVE. 

MOORE,  December \  1910. 


37 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

NOTE        ........         5 


PREFACE         .......  17 

CHAPTER   I 
ENGLAND,    NICE,    MALTA,    EGYPT,    CANNES  .  .  -45 

CHAPTER  II 
CORSICA,   ENGLAND,    AND   CANNES      .  .  .  .  103 

CHAPTER    III 

SAN   REMO  .  .  .  .  .  .  •    115 

CHAPTER   IV 
SAN  remo  (continued)  .  .  .  •  .151 

CHAPTER  V 
INDIA,    ENGLAND,    AND   SAN   REMO  .  .  .  .    1 65 

CHAPTER    VI 

SAN  REMO,  AND  ENGLAND  .        .       .       .       .      199 

39 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

CHAPTER   VII 

PAGE 

SAN   REMO   AND   SWITZERLAND    .  .  .  .  .    214 


CHAPTER  VIII 
SWITZERLAND  AND   SAN   REMO  .  .  .  266 

CHAPTER   IX 
SAN   REMO   AND   NORTHERN    ITALY  .  .  .  .290 

APPENDIX— 

A.  ORANGE-BLOSSOM     .....  363 

B.  LETTERS    FROM    LEAR   TO   MRS.    HASSALL              .  .    364 

C.  LETTER   FROM    LEAR   TO   LORD   AVEBURY    .                 .  366 

D.  COMPLETE  LIST  OF  CONTEMPLATED  ILLUSTRATIONS  TO 

POEMS   BY   LORD   TENNYSON  .  .  .    368 

E.  PICTURES  EXHIBITED  BY  LEAR  AT  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY    379 

F.  SUBSCRIBERS    TO    HIS    "TEMPLE    OF    BASSiE,"    AT   THE 

FITZWILLIAM    MUSEUM,   CAMBRIDGE  .  .    380 

G.  SUBSCRIBERS'     LIST     OF     MEMBERS     TO     "argos"    BY 

LEAR   PRESENTED  TO  TRINITY  COLLEGE,  CAMBRIDGE   382 

INDEX  .......  383 

40 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


LIST  OF   PLATES 
Benares,  India  (Coloured  Reproduction)     .  .     Frontispiece 

From  a  water  colour  drawing,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Earl  of  Northbrook. 

FACING  PAGE 

Mary  Lear,  Wife  of  Richard  Boswell  .  .  8 

From  a  miniature,  by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Allen. 

Ann  Lear,  Lear's  Eldest  Sister,  who  Brought  Him  Up    48 

From  a  miniature,  by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Allen. 

Monaco,  from  Turbia      .  .  .  .  .52 

From  "  Poems  by  Alfred  Lord  Tennyson,  illustrated  by  Edward  Lear,  1889,"  by 
kind  permission  of  Lord  Tennyson. 

Cenc,  Isle  of  Gozo,  Malta  .  .  .  .  .72 

From  an  oil  painting,  by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Charles  Roundell. 

Edward  Lear  in  1867      .....  82 

Taken  in  Alexandria. 

Chichester  Fortescue,  Lord  Carlingford  (about  1874) .     82 

From  a  photograph  by  Bassano. 

Tenda,  Italy         .  .  .  .  .  .116 

From  a  sepia  drawing,  by  kind  permission  of  Hubert  Congreve,  Esq. 

The  Pine- woods  of  Ravenna  .  .  .  .122 

From  an  oil  painting,  by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Charles  Roundell. 

Villa  Emily  .  .  .  .  .  .136 

From  a  photograph. 

The  Garden  of  Villa  Tennyson     .  .  .  .136 

From  a  photograph. 

Trichinopoly,  India         .  .  .  .  .176 

From  a  water  colour  drawing,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Earl  of  Northbrook. 

Marble  Rocks,  Nerbudda       .         .  .  .  .180 

From  a  water  colour  drawings  by  kind  permission  of  the  Earl  of  Northbrook. 

Mrs.  Ruxton  in  her  Pony-cart  at  Red  House,  Ardee     186 

From  a  photograph. 

41 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

FACING  PAGE 

Edward  Lear  as  a  Young  Man  and  his  Youngest  Sister  188 

From  silhouettes,  by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Allen. 

Mount  Soracte,  Campagna  di  Roma     .  .  .        200 

From  "  Poems  by  Alfred  Lord  Tennyson,  illustrated  by  Edward  Lear,  1889,"  by 
kind  permission  of  Lord  Tennyson. 

Between    Calcis    and   Castella,    Eubgea    (Coloured    Re- 
production) .  .  .  .  .  .222 

From  a  water  colour  drawing,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Rev.  Canon  Church. 

Ceriana,  Italy      .  .  .  .  .  .226 

From  a  sepia  drawing,  by  kind  permission  of  Hubert  Congr eve,  Esq. 

Giuseppe,  the  Bandy-legged  Gardener,  in  1881  .  .232 

From  a  photograph. 

Edward  Lear  in  1881  .  .  .  .         232 

From  a  piiotograph. 

Giorgio  Cocali  in  188 i         .  .  .  .  .232 

From  a  photograph. 

Frances,  Countess  Waldegrave     .     .     .    240 

From  her  sitting-room  window  at  Strawberry  Hill. 

Frances,  Countess  Waldegrave      ....  240 

Taken  at  Strawberry  Hill  dbout  1871. 

"Becky,"  Sir  Spencer  and  Lady  Robinson's  Parrot  256 

By  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  W.  H.  C.  Shaw. 

Castella,  Euboia.  .  .  .  .  .270 

From  a  water  colour  drawing,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Rev.  Canon  Church. 

BASSiE    ......-•   3°6 

From  an   oil  painting,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Director  of  the  Fitzwilliam 
Museum,  Cambridge. 

Chichester  Fortescue,  Lord  Carlingford       .  .        344 

From  a  photograph  by  Bassano  (about  1883). 

Foss's  Tombstone  in  the  Garden  of  Villa  Tennyson         356 
The  Last  Photograph  of  Lear,  1887         .  .  .  360 

Taken  at  Villa  Tennyson. 

Tombstone  of  Giorgio  Cocali,  at  Mendrisio  .  .         362 

Graves  of  Lear  and  Nicola  Cocali,  at  San  Remo  .  362 

42 


List  of  Illustrations 

LIST  OF  THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  SKETCHES 
REPRODUCED  IN  THE  TEXT 

PAGE 

lear  revealing  himself  to  railway  passenger    .  .     79 

lear  with  his  two  friends  in  paradise  .           .        106 

lear  under  his  own  olive-tree      .  .            .            .  1 32 

"the  fortescue".           .           .           .  .           .135 

lear  a-watering  of  his  own  flowers  .           .           .  1 36 

lear  and  his  domestic  hen-bird          .  .           .         142 

lear  riding  an  elephant      .            .  .            .            .  1 67 

THE  AHKROND   OF   SWAT       .  .  .  .  1 68 

LEAR   RIDING  A    PORPOISE  .  .  .  .  .    1 84 

FOSS   THE  CAT  ......  213 

LEAR    FEEDING   TWO   LORDS  .  .  .  .  .    230 

THE   PHOCA    PRIVATA  .  .  .  .  260 

LORD    CARLINGFORD    RESIGNS   THE   PHOCA    PRIVATA         .  .    28 1 

LEAR   AND   THE   PHOCA  .  ....  298 

ON   HAIRDRESSING  .  .  .  .  .  .    313 

A   DINNER-PARTY    IN    MILAN  .  .  .  .  316 

LEAR   ON    HIS    WAY   TO   DINE   WITH    LORD   CARLINGFORD  .    346 

LEAR   RIDING   THE   PHOCA     .....  347 

LEAR,    MISS   CAMPBELL   OF   CORSICA  ....    348 

43 


Later 
Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


CHAPTER   I 

October  19,   1864,  to  February  24,   1868. 

ENGLAND,    NICE,    MALTA,    EGYPT,    CANNES. 

,    Lear  to  Fortescue. 

Cadland.1    Southampton. 

19  Oct.  1864. 

YOURS  of  Oct.  1 6th  has  just  come,  and  tho' 
it  is  one  of  eight,  wanting  a  reply,  I  will 
write  a  line  at  once.  You  have  mistaken  the  nature 
of  my  last  in  a  measure,  tho'  it  is  very  probable 
I  wrote  curtly,  for  (as  in  the  present  instance)  I  feel 
that  not  to  write  immediately  is  to  defer  to  an 
indefinite  period  when  I  should  possibly  have  still 
less  time  or  capacity  to  write  well.  Nevertheless 
the  term  " stern  and  stiff"  is  to  a  certain  degree 
justly   applied,    and    moreover    may   very   likely   be 

1  The  residence  of  Andrew  Drummond,  grandson  of  Lord 
Strathallan.     His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland. 

45 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

more  so  year  by  year  :  the  mistake  is  in  supposing 
the  style  is  so  to  you  more  than  to  others,  which 
is  not  the  fact  Every  year — especially  in  London 
— makes  me  less  able  to  write  as  formerly — both 
because  as  I  grow  older  I  find  myself  altered  in 
several  ways,  and  because  every  year  brings  fresh 
sets  of  acquaintances  all  requiring  a  portion  of  time. 
You  may  however  always  feel  certain  that  any 
letters  such  as  my  last  are  the  result  of  heaps  of 
small  botherations  which  can  by  no  means  be  par- 
ticularized any  more  than  the  midges  which  bring 
on  a  fever  by  their  bites  can  be  identified  or 
described :  and  that  in  no  case  have  they  been 
occasioned  by  any  feeling  towards  yourself  in  any 
way.  How  should  it  be  otherwise  ?  You  would 
find,  if  you  could  see  my  journal,  for  years  past 
the  very  contrary.  No  friend  could  have  helped 
another  more,  and  not  only  in  earlier  days  but 
later,  for  Lady  W.1  through  you  has  had  many 
more  pictures  of  me  than  she  needed  to  have  done 
qua  ornament  :  so  that  I  have  often  had  to  thank 
you  both  for  personal  help.  And,  regarding  the 
future,  I  have  a  perfect  conviction  that  you  would 
help  me  in  any  mode  I  asked  if  it  were  possible. 
But  for  all  this,  you  must  make  up  your  minds 
never  again — except  by  chance  or  fits  of  irregular 
elasticity,  to  find  in  me  the  descriptive  or  merry 
flow  of  chronic  correspondence  I  used  to  be  able  to 
indulge  in.  As  we  grow  older,  and  life  changes 
around  us  and  within  us,  we  ourselves  must  shew 
some    signs    of    change — unless    we    are    fools,    or 

1  Frances,  Countess  Waldegrave,   married   Chichester   For- 
tescue  (Lord  Carlingford)  in  1863,  and  died  in  1879. 

46 


England,   Nice,   Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

vegetables,  or  philosophers  to  a  greater  degree 
than  I  am  or  can  be. 

Your  letter  makes  me  almost  think  that  it  is 
better  to  write  scarcely  at  all  rather  than  that  which 
is  unsatisfactory.  Meanwhile,  avoid  imagining 
motives  which  do  not  exist,  tho'  their  appearance 
may :  and  be  sure  that  anyone  who  has  known 
you  a  tenth  part  as  well  as  I  have  must  be  certain 
of  your  being  as  absolutely  true  and  kind  in  heart 
as  a  man  can  be.  Which  I  shouldn't  say,  if  I 
didn't  feel  from  your  writing  that  I  ought  to  do. 

I  have  been  at  my  sister's I  since  I  wrote,  and 
then  ...  I  decided  on  going  to  see  Mrs.  Tennyson 
at  Freshwater — the  first  time  for  three  years,  since 
they  were  so  kindly  a  refuge  when  my  sister  Ann 
died.  I  was  with  them  nearly  4  days :  but  I  found 
all  that  quiet  part  of  the  Island  fast  spoiling,  and 
how  they  can  stay  there  I  can't  imagine.  Not  only 
is  there  an  enormous  monster  Hotel  growing  up  in 
sight 2 — but  a  tracing  of  the  foundations  of  300  houses 
— a  vast  new  road — and  finally  a  proposed  railway 
— cutting  thro'  John  Simeon  and  A.T.s  grounds 
from  end  to  end.  3  Add  to  this,  Pattledom4  has 
taken  entire  possession  of  the  place — Camerons  and 
Princeps  building  everywhere :  Watts  in  a  cottage 
(not  Mrs.  W.)  and  Guests,  Schreibers,  Pollocks, 
and   myriads  more   buzzing   everywhere.     However, 


1  Ellen  Newsom,  a  widow,  who  lived  at  Leatherhead. 

2  Stark's  Hotel. 

3  The  proposal  to  carry  the  railway  farther  westward  to 
Totland  Bay  lapsed. 

♦  Countess  Somers,  nee  Virginia  Pattle,  was  a  cousin  of  the 
Prinseps,  Camerons,  &c. 

47 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

by  being  (thank  God)  personally  as  uncivil  as  I 
could  to  most  callers,  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  my 
friends  and  the  Lushingtons.  The  account  of  the 
visit  to  Osborne  x  was  very  interesting :  and  among 
other  matters,  I  faintly  hope  I  may  have  done  some 
good  as  to  choice  of  poem-subjects, — for  I  maintain 
that  the  higher  the  class  of  topic,  the  better  for 
readers,  provided  that  equal  technical  power  is  dis- 
played. .  .  .  On  my  way  back,  I  came  here  for  a 
night,  a  place  I  have  been  asked  to  for  years  past 
— very  splendid — but  having  met  some  old  folks 
who  said  "  probably  you  will  not  come  to  us  for 
we  have  no  great  house  to  receive  you  in."  I  am 
at  present  disgustably  inclined. 

Presently  I  return  to  15  Stratford  Place,  and  if 
I  can  shall  clear  out  in  the  end  of  next  week.  .  .  . 
I  shall  not  much  longer  speculate  and  rush  about 
violently  :  as  I  shall  probably  go  and  live  at  Ega, 
which  is  on  the  Amazon  above  Para.  This  house 
is  abunjantly  full,  of  Manners — Drummonds,  Per- 
cevals — Spencer  Walpoles — etc  :  etc  :  etc  :  etc  :  and 
I  wish  there  had  been  only  Edgar  and  sweet 
Mrs.  E.  D.2  Goodbye.  My  kind  regards  to  the 
other  half  of  you.   .  .   . 

Pavilion  Hotel,  Folkestone, 

3  Novr.  1864. 

Finding  part  of  this  envelope  written  and  stick- 
stamped,  I  shall  send  it  on  principle,  as  one  should 
eat   all   that  is  in  a  dish  if  the  food  "won't   keep." 

1  Tennyson's  visit. 

2  Edgar   Drummond,   son  of  Andrew  Drummond,   married 
a  sister  of  Lord  Muncaster. 

48 


U  «      4  •      • 


'  :••••. :% :, 


ANN   LEAR,    LEAR  S  ELDEST  SISTER,    WHO   BROUGHT 
HIM   UP. 

(From  a  miniature,  by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Allen.) 


! 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

The  sea  is  in  appearance  decently  respectable,  and 
I  hope  I  may  get  across  calmly :  the  passage  is, 
however,  always  a  terror  and  disgust  to  me,  wherein 
I   fully  sympathise  with  my   Lady. 

I  have  had  sent  me  here  a  sermon  by  Colenso — 
published  at  Longman's,  and  called,  "  Abraham's 
Sacrifice  "  !  ! — very  remarkable  and  good. *  The 
ravening  fanatics  who  persecute  this  man  are  highly 
devil-inspired.  Will  there  now  be  a  new  edition  of 
the  Bible,  the  filthy,  savage,  or  burlesque-upon-the- 
Deity  passages  left  out  ?  Shall  you  set  it  on  foot 
any  the  more  than  that  Lord  Derby  is  advertising 
an  edition  of  blank-verse  Homer?  If  you  do,  you 
can  call  it 

THE  NEW 

ANTIBEASTLY  ANTIBRUTAL  ANTIBOSH 

BIBLE 

by  the 

Rt.  Hon.  Chichester  S.  Fortescue. 

I  will  take  ten  copies. 

M.  E.  Lear. 

Villa  Canapa. 

61.  Promenade  des  Anglais. 

Nice. 

France, 
which)  *I3  Nov.  7.30  a.m. 

Is  the  writer's  address  for  the  next  five  months  he 
supposes,   and   which   he   hopes   you    will   write    to. 

1  Colenso,  appointed  1st  Bishop  of  Natal  in  1853,  was 
deposed  from  his  see  by  his  Metropolitan  Bishop  Gray  of 
Capetown  in  1864,  alter  the  condemnation  of  his  book,  "  The 
Pentateuch  and  Book  of  Joshua  critically  examined." 

*  See  p.  50. 

49  D 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

You  see  by  the  date,*  that  I  am  up  early,  and  I 
think  that  this  hour  on  Sunday — or  up  till  noon,  will 
be  my  chief  or  only  writing  time.  Not  to  begin  at 
the  beginning,  I  will  first  thank  you  for  the  fun  I  get 
out  of  a  book  I  saw  on  your  table  at  Carlton  Gardens, 
— the  ''Competition  Wallah."  I  I  bought  it  at  a 
hazard,  with  one  or  two  more  books,  and  now  find  it 
very  useful.  It  is  delightfully  written,  and  the  writer 
must  be  a  "clayver  fellow":  moreover,  concerning 
Oxford  Dons,  Convocations,  and  Bishops,  etc,  our 
ideas  are  as  one. — I  got  down  to  Folkestone  after 
great  effort,  on  Wednesday  the  2nd. — and  on  Thurs- 
day the  3d,  crossed — with  a  good  passage, — arriving 
at  Paris  by  night.  On  the  4th.  excepting  a  visit  to 
Adml.  and  Mrs.  Robinson,2 — I  was  at  the  galleries 
all  day,  and  at  8.  p.m.  set  off  by  rail  to  Nice,  reaching 
it  exactly  at  8  p.m.  on  the  5th.,  just  24  hours  by  rail — 
a  journey  on  end  I  will  not  try  again,  as  there  is  no 
time  to  eat  or  drink,  much  less  for  repose  or  sleep. 
I  went  to  a  bad  little  Hotel,  partly  because  I  knew  no 
other  by  name,  partly  because  I  was  there  last  year, 
and  had  told  George  3  to  come  and  meet  me  there  : — 
he  however  had  not  appeared,  wh.  I  did  not 
wonder  at,  as  he  had  to  fit  various  incongruous 
steamers  on  his  way  from  Corfu.  Sunday  the  6th. 
I  looked  at  heaps  of  lodgings : — such — for  size  and 


*  See  p.  49. 

1  "  Letters  of  a  Competition  Wallah,"  1864,  by  Sir  George 
Otto  Trevelyan,  nephew  of  Macaulay. 

2  See  p.  205. 

3  Giorgio  Cocali,  Lear's  faithful  Suliote  servant,  who  had 
been  with  him  in  Corfu  from  the  time  he  first  stayed  there 
in  1856. 

50 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

position, — as  I  had  at  Corfu  cost  6000,  5000.  4000 
francs — being  furnished — (and  most  hideously.)  Do 
you  know  Nice  ? — It  reminds  me  a  good  deal  of  St. 
Leonards,  only  that  the  houses  are  more  detached, 
and  in  many  instances  stand  in  gardens.  The 
Promenade  des  Anglais  is  altogether  a  long  row  of 
lodgings — with  a  really  good  broad  walk  above  the 
shingly  beach.  The  sea  is  rather  deadly  stupid, 
as  there  is  no  opposite  coast,  nor  islands,  nor  ships, 
nor  nothing,  and  the  landskip  is  bebounded  by,  west 
the  headlands  of  Antibes,  and  east,  by  the  Castle 
Hill  and  Villa  Franca  point — pretty  enough.  Near 
the  Castle  Hill  is  the  old  town — divided  from  the 
New  by  the  torrent  Paillon  cum  bridgibus : — and 
radiating  from  this  as  a  centre  Northward  easterly 
or  westerly  are  growing  streets,  and  villas  of  all 
descriptions,  all  at  the  mouth  of  the  Paillon  valley 
as  it  were.  On  Sunday  I  learned  somewhat  of  the 
place  from  Lady  Duncan, — and  on  Monday  7th.  I 
again  looked  at  lodgings — among  these  at  many 
villas,  some  of  which  had  good  north  light  for  work, 
and  were  moderate  in  price — but  with  one  servant 
and  far  from  the  daily  shops  of  life,  they  were 
impracticable.  Other  houses  had  red  white  or  yellow 
walls  opposite — reflecting  sun  :  some  had  only  the 
sea  look-out — blinding  to  behold  :  others  were  noisy — 
or  too  small, — or  what  not.  So  I  resolved  to  go  next 
day  to  Mentone  and  see  what  I  could  make  of  that — 
Incordingly  on  Tuesday  the  8th.  off  I  set  in  a 
carriage — and  certainly  I  had  no  idea  the  Cornice 
was  so  magnificent  in  scenery ;  Eza  and  Monaco 
are  wondrously  picturesque,  and  Mentone  very 
pretty — ;  but  it  is  too  shut  in  and  befizzled  a  place 

5i 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

for  me :  you  have  to  walk  thro'  the  long  only  and 
narrow  street  of  the  town  wherever  you  go — unless 
you  have  a  carriage,  or  could  hire  a  big  villa.  I  was, 
however,  very  glad  to  see  the  place,  and  moreover 
found  a  lot  of  Corfu  friends  there,  besides  Ld  and 
Ly  Strangford,1  with  whom  I  sate,  and  they  came 
back  in  "  my  carriage  "  part  of  the  way.  (They  came 
here  yesterday,  and  I  shall  see  them  to-day  :  George, 
to  whom  Lord  S.  was  talking,  hardly  believes  him 
to  be  English,  so  remarkably  well  does  he  speak 
Greek.)  I  got  back  late  to  Nice  on  the  7th.  and 
the  first  thing  I  saw  on  Wednesday  the  8th  when 
I  opened  my  shutters  at  7  a.m. — was  Giorgio  the 
Suliote  smoking  a  cigar  on  a  post  opposite.  Of 
course  we  went  directly  to  see  places,  and  finally 
fixed  on  this— in  which  we  are  as  settled  as  if  we 
had  been  here  10  years.  It  is  a  small  set  of  rooms, 
on  the  all  but  ground  floor — (raised  by  a  few  steps,) 
on  the  west  side  of  a  detached  house  in  a  garden — 
facing  the  sea.  Madame  Comtesse  Colleredo  has  the 
first  floor,  and  the  other  half  at  the  ground  floor 
entrance  similar  to  mine.  Above  lives  a  Germing 
gent  and  lady.  Below  my  rooms  are  George's 
kitchen,  wood  cellar,  etc,  etc — but  I  must  go  to 
bkft  8.30  a.m,  To  rezoom :  after  a  good  break- 
fast— and  reading  more  of  Trevelyan's  book,2  which 
is  the  most  delightfully  healthy  toned,  instructive, 
witty,  and  altogether  excellent  perduction  I  have 
met  with  for  many  a  day.     Here  is  a  plan  of  my 

1  Lord  Strangford,  8th  Viscount,  a  most  accomplished 
Orientalist,  President  of  the  Asiatic  Society,  married,  1862,  Emily 
Anne,  youngest  daughter  of  Sir  Francis  Beaufort,  K.C.B. 

2  See  p.  50. 

52 


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'    *  *  .    **   ' 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

rooms.  A  is  my  parlour,  where  I  feed,  and  write, 
and  work  at  night.  B  the  bedroom.  C.  entrance 
lobby  from  I.  I  stairs  and  hall.  (J.  goes  up  to 
Mdme  Colleredo,  and  K.  is  her  ground  floor  wing.) 
D  is  my  study — north  light,  and  as  far  as  yet 
known — quiet.  E.  used  as  a  lumberroom.  F. 
George's  room.  So  you  see  the  arrangement  is 
good.  But  what  do  you  think  I  pay  ?  2000  fr. — 
i.e.  ;£8o.  This  was  the  very  least  I  could  get  any- 
thing for  at  all  suitable,  and  if  I  am  able  by  reson  of 


their  suitableness  to  work  in  these  rooms,  then  they 
will  have  been  wisely  taken — for  London  Winter  life 
is  for  ever  impossible  on  all  accounts.  Meantime 
the  Suliot,  who  always  sets  to  work  at  once,  gives  me 
my  breakfast  and  dinner  quite  perfectly  and  without 
bother,  which  is  a  great  blessing  to  me.  Yesterday 
a  sole,  a  dish  of  thrushes  and  bacon,  and  stewed 
apples : — the  day  before  soup  and  a  piece  of  roast  lamb 
and  beans  : — these  are  the  kind  of  meals  he  provides — 
always  well  cooked, — and  I  never  have  a  single  thing 
to  think  of  except  going  over  the  accounts  weekly, 

53 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

which  he  keeps  quite  well  now  that  he  has  learned  to 
read  and  write.  His  accounts  of  Corfu  are  by  no 
means  bad,  tho',  as  he  says,  the  English  are 
greatly  regretted.  The  Greek  soldiers  are  kept  in 
good  order, — and  the  story  of  the  Archbp.  having 
been  mobbed  is  untrue.  I  have  already  cut  out  an 
immense  lot  of  work  for  winter  and  spring  : — I  wish 
to  do  no  less  than  enough  drawings  to  fill  up  all  the 
great  room  of  15  Stratford  Place,  and  to  enable  me 
to  do  this,  I  mean  to  refuse  seeing  most  people, — for 
already  I  hear  of  many  who,  idle  themselves,  would 
gladly  make  me  so.  If  I  hate  anything,  it  is  a  race 
of  idlers.  Perhaps  I  may  dine  out  on  Sundays,  and 
one  other  day,  but  my  evenings  in  general  will  go  in 
hard  penning-out  work,  if  I  can  get  lamps  to  suit  me. 
In  a  few  days — if  the  weather  is  as  lovely  as  now, 
I  shall  go  out  in  a  carriage  to  Eza  for  2  or  3 
days  and  return  at  night.  Afterwards,  G.  and  I 
shall  go  to  Mentone  and  Monaco  for  a  week  : — and 
later  I  hope  to  walk  all  the  way  to  Genoa  and  partly 
back,  getting  good  views  of  the  whole  Cornice  road. 
G.  will  cook  and  take  a  cold  dinner  on  the  daily 
outing  occasions — and  as  this  house  is  full  of  people, 
I  can  leave  it  safely  as  I  like  or  not.  I  will  let  you 
know  what  progress  I  make.  Beside  Lady  Duncan — 
(who  is  too  far  to  see  often,)  and  the  Strangfords, 
(who  go  to-morrow),  there  are  Reillys  and  Bathursts, 
and  Hankey's,  and  Cortazzi,  and  Saltmarshes,  and 
Smithbarrys,  and  many  more,  whom  I  shall  chiefly 
avoid  or  adopt  as  things  turn  out.  Royal  and 
Imperial  folk  abound,  and  no  one  notices  them  nor 
they  nobody.  Only  they  say  the  Russians  have  spies 
abunjiant  everywhere,   which,   as   there   was  a  tame 

54 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

Pole  at  one  Hotel  I  was  at,  and  a  Russ  at  another, 
don't  seem  unlikely. 

I  am  going  to  Church  this  morning — more  because 
I  don't  like  systematically  shewing  a  determination 
to  ignore  all  outward  forms  than  for  any  other  cause : 
but  as  it  is  probable  I  shall  be  disgusted,  possibly 
I  shall  not  go  again.  As  the  clergy  go  on  now, 
they  seem  in  a  fair  way  of  having — as  the  Irish 
gentleman  said — only  the  four  Fs  for  their  admirers, 
Fanatics,  Farisees,  Faymales  and  Fools. 


I  shan't  write  much  more.  This  year  I  seem  to 
have  done  a  good  deal  don't  you  think  ?  Paint- 
ings finished — Hy.  Bruce's  Cephalonia,  Jameson's 
Florence,  Sir  W.  James'  Campagna,  and  Fair- 
bairn's  Janina.  All  Crete  visited  and  220  drawings 
made.  Some  220  drawings  penned  and  coloured, 
besides  those  of  Cephalonia,  Ithaca,  Zante,  and 
Cerigo  penned  and  coloured  also.  Arranged  and 
moved  downstairs  in  Stratford  Place.  Bothered 
about1  Nephew's  death,  and  W.  Nevill's2  failure. 
Helped  Nephew's  family  £40 — sick  friend  ;£io — one 
godson  £5 — t 'other's  mother  ditto,  and  other  explosive 
charities : — and  after  all  have  nearly  if  not  quite 
enough  to  get  through  the  winter  with,  and  hope 
besides  to  add  some  50  or  60  Cornice  drawings  to 
my  collection.  Ajoo,  ajoo.  My  very  kind  regards 
to  My  Lady  : — I  wish  you  could  both  see  the  sun- 
beams and  sea  here — also  the  flowers  and  the  flies. 

1  In  America. 

2  One  of  his  M  ten  original  friends.'' 

55 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Certainly   up   to    10    or    12 — even    this  front   room, 
(where  I  am  writing,)  seems  perfect. 

Yours  affectionately, 

Edward  Lear 

1.  P.M.  Just  come  from  Church — in  a  rage  :  collec- 
tion for  "  pastor's  aid  society " — and  foolish  sermon 
to  wit.  Saw  heaps  of  people  I  knew,  out  of  the 
500  English  there,  Jacob  Omnium, I  Lyons,  Deakins, 
Ly  Vaux ; — won't  go  again  for  4  months. 

Goodbye 

EL 

61,  Promenade  des  Anglais, 
Nice. 

January  2nd  1865. 

I  wrote  a  line  from  Genoa  on  the  23rd,  and  next 
day  I  set  out  on  my  return  hither,  where  I  arrived 
on  the  evening  of  the  31st,  having  divided  my  walk 
into  6  days  of  16  miles — one  of  14,  and  one  of  20. 
Thus  ...  I  have  "  done "  the  Riviera  di  Ponente 
as  well  as  Crete,  and  also  ...  I  have  paid  ^"io  to 
the  London  poor,  which  I  omitted  before  to  notice. 
I  have  brought  back  144  drawings  great  and  small, 
and  can  work  the  Corniche  road  pretty  thoroughly, 
as  having  walked  both  ways  I  know  it  tolerably  well. 
A  more  interesting  piece  of  Italy  I  have  never  seen, 
— 130  miles  of  narrow  coast  full  of  cultivation,  vil- 
lages— vines — vegetables — vaccination    and   vot   not. 

1  Jacob  Omnium  was  the  name  assumed  in  the  Times  by 
Matthew  J.  Higgins.  For  an  account  of  his  attack  on  the  old 
Palace  Court  of  Justice,  which  made  a  great  stir,  one  cannot  do 
better  than  read  Thackeray's  u  Ballad  of  Policeman  X,  called 
"Jacob  H  omnium's  Hoss." 

56 


England,  Nice,   Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

And  a  more  delightfully  civil  intelligent  and  indus- 
trious population  does  not  I  think  exist.  I  have 
talked  with  many  of  all  classes — workmen,  engineers, 
Deputies  of  Parliament,  &c.  &c.  &c.  &c.  and  have 
always  more  and  more  admired  Italian  character. 
Some  of  their  remarx  on  the  religious  crisis  of  their 
country  are  very  striking.  "  I  am  afraid,"  said  a 
fierce  Protestant  Exeterhalliste,  "that  you  Italians 
are  leaving  your  belief  in  your  Roman  faith,  and 
are  most  of  you  believing  in  nothing  at  all." — "  You 
think  then"  was  the   reply — "that  God  is  nothing? 

The  Pope  says — believe  in  me  or  go  to  H ,  you 

Calvinists  say  the  same  : — but  our  nation  is  beginning 
to  think  that  the  Almighty  is  greater  than  priests  of 
either  sort.  ..." 

I  have  just  got  the  ist  number  of  the  new  National 
Review,  what  I  see  being  first-rate,  and  highly  con- 
cordacious  with  my  own  feelins. 

61,  Promenade  des  Anglais,  Nice. 

24  February  1865. 

.  .  .  Concerning  the  ink  of  which  you  complain, 
this  place  is  so  wonderfully  dry  that  nothing  can  be 
kept  moist.  I  never  was  in  so  dry  a  place  in  all 
my  life.  When  the  little  children  cry,  they  cry  dust 
and  not  tears.  There  is  some  water  in  the  sea,  but 
not  much  : — all  the  wetnurses  cease  to  be  so  imme- 
diately on  arriving  : — Dryden  is  the  only  book  read  : — 
the  neighbourhood  abounds  with  Dryads  and  Ham- 
merdryads :  and  weterinary  surgeons  are  quite  un- 
known. It  is  a  queer  place, — Brighton  and  Belgravia 
and  Baden  by  the  Mediterranean  :  odious  to  me  in 
all  respects  but  its   magnificent  winter  climate,  and 

57 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

were  I  possessor  of  a  villa,  I  could  live  delightedly : 
but  to  have  one's  only  chance  of  exercise  in  a  crowded 
promenade  of  swells — one  year  is  enough  of  that. 
Among  the  very  nice  swells  are  Lord  and  Lady  Fitz- 
william1 — something  uncommon  for  simplicity  and 
good  breeding.  I  have  sold  several  small  £$  draw- 
ings to  them.  .  .  . 

My  London  life  requires  some  arrangement  and 
study  beforehand  .  .  .  and  I  regret  that  Holman 
Hunt  will  not  be  in  England  to  advise  me,  for  by 
long  experience  I  have  been  aware  that  none  but 
an  artist  can  enter  thoroughly  into  these  matters  : — 
all  those  who  have  a  sufficient  regular  income  can 
only  see  things  from  their  own  point  of  view,  as  is 
but  natural. 

I  hear  from  Baring2  and  Sir  Henry  Storks 3  also  : 
and  from  the  Curcumelly.4  The  former  are  not  in 
love  with  Malta,  the  latter  report  well  of  Corfu. 
Lady  Wolff  is  at  Florence,  Sir  H.  D.5  at  Constan- 
tinople. I  could  not  say  half  enough  of  the  Riviera 
people  : — that  journey,  now  that  the  small  disagree- 
ables of  travel  fade  into  distance,  is  one  of  delightful 


1  The  5th  Earl,  married  Lady  Francis  Harriet  Douglas, 
daughter  of  the  17th  Earl  of  Morton. 

2  Evelyn  Baring,  the  present  Lord  Cromer,  was  aide-de-camp 
to  Sir  Henry  Storks  in  Corfu  during  part  of  the  time  that  Lear 
was  resident  there. 

3  At  this  date  Governor  of  Malta.  Had  been  Lord  High 
Commissioner  of  the  Ionian  Isles  from  1859  to  its  cession  in 
1863.     Afterwards  Governor  of  Jamaica. 

4  Sir  Demetrius  and  Lady  Curcumelli,  friends  in  Corfu. 

5  Sir  Henry  Drummond  Wolff,  who  had  been  Secretary  to 
Sir  Henry  Storks  in  Corfu,  held  many  Foreign  Office  appoint- 
ments, and  was  eventually  Ambassador  to  Spain  in  1892. 

S8 


England,   Nice,   Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

memories  to  me :  and  I  could  wish  to  publish  two 
little  volumes — Crete  and  the  Corniche,  as  to  my 
1864  doings.  ...  I  have  been  reading  Sir  C.  Na- 
pier's life  :  a  grand  and  wonderful  book.  The  expres- 
sions, however,  used  towards  Lord  Howick,  Earl 
Ripon,  and  Sir  James  Hogg  cannot  be  called  strictly 
suave  and  pleasant.  His  niece  writes  me  a  charming 
letter  to-day.  .  .  .  The  other  day  I  met  a  parson 
here  (at  Lord  Fitzwilliam's).  After  dinner — talking 
of  great  statesmen,  and  Ld.  F.  saying  that  Sir  G.  C. 
Lewis1  was  one  of  the  very  first  men  of  our  time, 
said  the  priest,  "it  is  to  be  feared  however  that  at 
one  time  of  his  life  his  mind  was  inclined  to  be  rather 
sceptical,  and  that  he  even  had  some  doubts  as  to  the 
authenticity  of  some  portions  of  the  revealed  writings  : 
but  I  hope  this  was  not  so  at  the  close  of  his  days." 

I  went  over  to  Cannes  t'other  day  to  see  Lady 
Duncan  :  and  as  many  as  seven  sets  of  people  I  saw 
only  by  chance.  One — a  most  intimate  lot,  Harford- 
cum-Bunsen — and  I  have  to  go  there  again.  Two 
Westbury  Bethells  have  been  here — to  my  delight, 
who  with  them  walked  and  drove  about  thro'  all  the 
livelong  day.     Holman  Hunt  I  expect. 


What  majestic  deaths  you  have  been  having  in 
England!  The  Duke  of  Northumberland2  was  a 
really  fine  man !  How  strange  that  aged  Lord  Bever- 
ley should  live  to  be  Duke  : — and  I  suppose  my  old 

1  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis  held  various  Government 
posts.  Was  Editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Review  1 852-1 855.  Died 
in  1863. 

2  The  4th  Duke. 

59 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

friends  of  Guyscliffe  will  be  Lord  and  Lady  Charles 
Percy — will  they  not? 

Cardinal  Wiseman1  too  gone — and  his  place  not 
easy  to  fill  up.  Manning2  report  says — is  to  succeed 
him,  but  there  is  a  wide  difference  twixt  the  two. 
Englishmen  are  made  Cardinals  by  the  Papal  Govern- 
ment for  one  of  three  reasons  I  imagine  :  great  wealth 
— great  family  position  or  leadership  or  influence, 
and  great  talents  without  either.  Acton  3  may  be  an 
example  of  the  first — York  4  and  Weld  of  the  second  5 
and  Wiseman  distinctly  of  the  third.  Manning 
always  seemed  to  me  a  very  vain  and  babbly  en- 
thusiast— but  they  may  give  him  the  hat,  because  as  a 
preacher  he  has  immense  influence  with  women,  and 

1  Appointed  by  the  Pope  Archbishop  of  Westminster  and 
Cardinal.  The  religious  excitement  caused  thereby  led  to  the 
passing  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Titles  Assumption  Act 

2  The  eloquent  preacher  and  High  Churchman  who  joined 
the  Church  of  Rome  in  1851,  succeeded  Wiseman  as  Arch- 
bishop of  Westminster  and  became  a  Cardinal  in  1875. 

3  Charles  Januarius  Edward  Acton,  1 803-1847,  2nd  son  of  Sir 
John  Francis  Acton,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  land  and  sea 
forces  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  Charles  Acton  entered  the 
college  of  the  Accademia  Ecclesiastica  in  Rome,  and  was  after- 
wards one  of  Leo  XII.'s  prelates.  In  1842  he  was  made  cardinal 
priest,  and  was  the  only  witness  and  interpreter  of  the  historic 
interview  between  Gregory  XVI.  and  Nicholas  I .  of  Russia  in  1845. 

4  The  Duke  of  York,  son  of  the  Old  Pretender,  born  at  Rome, 
1725,  took  orders  after  the  failure  of  the  '45  rising  and  in  1747 
received  a  Cardinal's  hat.  He  died,  the  last  of  the  Stuarts,  in 
1807. 

s  Thomas  Weld  of  Lulworth  Castle,  born  1773,  married  Lucy, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Clifford.  Upon  the  decease  of 
his  wife  he  took  Holy  Orders  and  eventually  became  Cardinal, 
1829.  He  was  the  first  Englishman  to  have  a  seat  in  the 
Conclave  since  Clement  IX.,  and  died  1837.  His  grandfather 
founded  Stonyhurst. 

60  ( 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

may  turn  thousands  of  silly  female  swells  to  the  true 
faith. 

15,  Stratford  Place,  W. 

21  April  1865 

.  .  .  Unpacking  and  arranging  has  been  a  long  and 
hardish  work,  and  now  there  is  the  fitting,  framing, 
finishing  of  the  Drawings  I  have  brought  over,  which 
are  wonderful  in  number  even  for  your  humble  ser- 
vant. .  .  .  All  this  speculation — the  large  rooms  etc  : 
is  costly — but  may  succeed  if  the  gallery  induces 
people  to  come  who  may  buy  the  big  pictures.  .  .  . 

I  wrote  to  you  before  I  left  Nice — some  time  back. 
I  can't  say  I  left  that  place  with  regret,  in  spite  of 

the  Suliot's  homily — who  Said,  "  pe  Kaico^aiWtu  va.  rrjv 
a<j)i<ju) — ciOTi  ev  avopojiroQ  (sic)  Trpiirei  va  £\y,  'c  to  koXov  icaul 

TOTTOVy  TTOV  6  GfOC   ^£V  TOV    EKCLjUS    KdVBV    KCLKOV  tig    ?£  /U?JV£C."  '        I 

staid  a  week  at  Cannes,  and  that  I  was  absolutely  de- 
lighted with.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  two  places  so 
different,  yet  so  close  together.  I  was  latterly  to  have 
shewn  my  drawings  to  the  Empress  of  R[ussia]  but 
the  poor  young  grand  Duke's  illness  put  that  aside.2 
I  wonder  what  good  such  secrecy  about  Royal  folk 
tends  to.  It  is  more  than  5  months  that  I  knew  the 
fatal  disease  the  Czarewitch  has  suffered  from — 
though  no  one  publicly  spoke  of  anything  but  rheuma- 
tism. It  is  or  was  lumbar  abscess — and  disease  of  the 
spine. 

1  "  I  don't  like  leaving,  for  a  man  should  count  among  the 
good  things  of  life  any  place  where  God  has  done  him  no  harm 
for  six  months." 

2  Nicolas  Alexandrovitch,  eldest  son  of  Alexander  II.,  died  at 
Nice  on  April  24th,  of  cerebral  meningitis.  He  was  21  years  of 
age  and  betrothed  to  Princess  Dagmar  of  Denmark,  afterwards 
wife  of  Alexander  III. 

61 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  have  seen  but  few  people  here.  T.  S.  Cocks  tells 
me  of  old  Mr.  Wynne's  death.  Charles  and  John, 
Mrs.  Godley  and  all  his  children  were  there — and  to 
the  last,  tho'  of  so  great  an  age — 87 — he  was  perfectly 
clearheaded.  About  5  minutes  before  he  died  he  said, 
"  Doctor,  how  long  do  you  think  it  will  be  before  I  am 
in  the  presence  of  the  Lord  ?  " — "  A  very  short  time  " 
was  the  reply.  After  which,  in  a  few  minutes  he  said 
"  Now,"  and  died.  .  .  .  Holman  Hunt  has  painted  a 
most  remarkable  picture,  Mrs.  T.  Fairbairn  and  five 
children.  Its  only  fault  is  that  some  day  all  the 
figures  will  certainly  come  to  life  and  walk  out  of  the 
canvass — leaving  only  the  landscape  :  such  reality  is 
there.     You  will  see  it  at  the  Hunt  gallery. 

Dear  old  Dr.  Lushington  is  very  failing.1  Alfred 
Tennyson  has  lost  his  mother  and  her  sister  2  (88  and 
87)  in  a  few  days,  and  Mrs.  A.  T.  writes  me  that  he  is 
much  depressed  and  nowise  himself. 

The  Lord  Chancellor  case  3  you  may  suppose  in- 
terests me,  but  I  imagine,  subtract  Tory  antipathy — 
Low  Church  fanaticism — High  Church  persecution — 
Law  Reform  victim's  indignation,  and  2  (at  least)  cases 
of  extreme  personal  virulence — and  little  enough  will 
be  left  to  make  a  fuss  about. 


1  Dr.  Lushington  was  the  Head  Master  of  the  Admiralty 
Court. 

2  Alfred  Tennyson's  mother  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Stephen  Fytche. 

3  The  transactions  in  which  the  Lord  Chancellor  (Lord 
Westbury)  was  alleged  to  have  exercised  his  office  in  a  manner 
detrimental  to  the  public  service.  The  Case  of  Mr.  Leonard 
Edmunds  and  the  Case  of  the  Leeds  Court  of  Bankruptcy. 

A  vote  of  Censure  was  passed,  and  the  Lord  Chancellor 
resigned.     He  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Cranworth. 

62 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

Please  read  J.  Stuart  Mill's  letter  in  the  Morning's 
Times  I :  I'm  so  glad  I  can't  do  a  rule  of  three  sum — 
and  so  can't  have  a  vote.  But  what  do  you  say  to 
M.  Thiers  and  his  speech  2?  It  is  brutal  and  odious, 
and  confounds  me.  The  American  news  is  indeed 
stupendous,  and  sets  one  thinking.3 

P.S.  You  see  our  friend  T.  B.  Potter  is  returned 
for  Rochdale.4  A  friend  of  his  and  mine  says  "  Let 
us  hope  he  will  not  open  his  mouth  in  the  House  :  so 
he  may  be  useful." 

You  ought  one  day  to  see  the  whole  of  my  outdoor 
work  of  12  months: — 200  sketches  in  Crete — 145  in 
the  Corniche — and  125  at  Nice,  Antibes  and  Cannes. 
.  .  .  I  sent  George  Kokali  away  at  Marseilles. 

Lear  to  Lady   Waldegrave. 

Hotel  Danieli.  Nov.  24/1865. 
Venice. 

My  dear  Lady  Waldegrave, — I  have  just  seen  the 
Leader  in  the  Times  of  Monday — the  20th.  which  con- 
gratulates Chichester  on  his  becoming  Irish  Secre- 
tary 5  ; — being  of  an  undiplomatic  and  demonstrative 

1  Giving  his  political  opinions  in  view  of  his  candidature  as 
Member  for  Westminster,  Lear  alludes  to  the  following  para- 
graph :  u  I  would  open  the  suffrage  to  all  grown  persons,  both 
men  and  women,  who  can  read,  write,  and  perform  a  sum  in  the 
rule  of  three.  .  .  ." 

2  Spoken  on  April  13,  1865,  in  defence  of  the  recent 
Encyclical  and  against  the  destruction  of  the  Papal  Government 
and  the  establishment  of  the  unity  of  Italy. 

3  American  news  of  General  Lee's  retreat  from  Richmond 
and  General  Sheridan's  report  of  the  capture  of  six  Generals  and 
several  thousand  confederate  prisoners.  In  consequence  General 
Lee's  surrender  was  hourly  expected. 

*  In  a  bye-election  due  to  Cobden's  death. 

5  The  Leader  (November  20,  1865)  also  pointed  out  that  the 

63 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

nature  in  matters  that  give  me  pleasure,  I  threw  the 
paper  up  into  the  air  and  jumped  aloft  myself — ending 
by  taking  a  small  fried  whiting  out  of  the  plate  before 
me  and  waving  it  round  my  foolish  head  triumphantly 
till  the  tail  came  off  and  the  body  and  head  flew 
bounce  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  table  d'hote  room. 
Then  only  did  I  perceive  that  I  was  not  alone,  but 
that  a  party  was  at  breakfast  in  a  recess.  Happily  for 
me  they  were  not  English,  and  when  I  made  an  apology 
saying  I  had  suddenly  seen  some  good  news  of  a 
friend  of  mine — these  amiable  Italians  said — "  Bravis- 
simo  Signore  !  ci  rallegriamo  anche  noi !  se  avessimo 
anche  noi  piccoli  pesce  li  butteremmo  di  qua  e  la  per  la 
camera  in  simpatia  con  voi ! "  l — so  we  ended  by  all 
screaming  with  laughter. 

I  am  truly  glad — but,  as  the  Times  says — CF's 
place  will  be  no  sinecure ;  and  he  has  come  to  it  in 
days  when  it  is  not  unlikely  that  many  remarkable 
events  relative  to  Ireland  will  come  to  pass,  and  in  his 
hands  may  well  eventuate  both  to  his  honour  and  the 
good  of  the  Irish  people.  I  wonder  immensely  if  you 
and  he  will  go  at  once  to  Ireland.  Pray  write  to  me 
at  Malta.  ...  My  love  to  C.S.P.F.2  and 

believe  me,  .  .  . 

Yours  sincerely, 

Edward  Lear. 

Ministry  increased  its  strength  by  preferring  younger  statesmen 
to  important  posts. 

1  "  Hurrah,  Signore,  we  also  are  delighted.  If  we  had  only 
got  some  littie  fish,  too,  we  would  throw  them  all  about  the 
room  in  sympathy  with  you." 

2  Fortescue's  names  were,  besides  Chichester,  Samuel  Parkin- 
son, names  he  disliked  ;  consequently,  Lear  loved  occasionally 
to  tease  him  with  them. 

64 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

Lear  to  Fortescue. 

Hotel  Danieli.    Venezia. 

Nov.  28.  1865. 

My  dear  40SCUE, — You  will  I  hope  have  learned, 
before  this  reaches  you,  that  I  have  already  known 
about  the  Irish  Secretaryship  from  the  papers  :  and 
I  sent  a  note  enclosed  in  one  to  T.  Cooper — to  be  left 
for  My  Lady.  None  the  less  thanks  however  for  the 
letter  which  has  just  reached  me — date — Dudbrook 
17th. — In  every  way  I  am  glad  the  matter  is  settled, 
and  I  have  been  reading  with  glee  all  that  has  been 
said  of  you  in  the  papers.  Unluckily,  my  Observer  of 
the  19th.  (which  was  likely  to  contain  something  about 
you — )  was  either  never  sent  or  has  never  turned  up, — 
but  I  have  read  articles  on  your  appointment  in  the 
Times,  Daily  News  etc  : — all  pleasant.  The  Standard 
delighted  me  by  saying,  "  Mr.  C.F.  is  reputed  by  his 
own  intimate  friends  to  have  talents  which  have  never 
been  discovered  by  any  other  persons."  And  one 
friend  writes,  "your  friend  C.F.  has  been  justly  pro- 
moted to  a  place  he  is  well  able  to  fill,  in  spite  of 

B s  frequent  predictions  that  he  would  shortly  be 

ruined  as  a  public  man  and  sink  into  a  permanent  state 
of  dilettante-ism."  On  the  contrary  I  see  in  this  new 
post  the  largest  opening  for  you  that  anyone  could 
suggest  or  wish — more  so,  to  my  thinking  than  if  you 
had  gone  into  the  Cabinet  as  D[uchy]  [of]  [Lancaster] 
or  Colonial  Secretary.     I  hope  Baring  l  will  get  a  lift 

1  Thomas  George  Baring,  M.P.  for  Penryn  and  Falmouth, 
1 857- 1 866,  held  various  appointments.  Secretary  to  Admiralty, 
1866  ;  succeeded  his  father  as  second  Baron  Northbrook  in 
1866  ;  Under  Secretary  for  War,  1868-1872  ;  succeeded  Lord 
Mayo  as  Governor-General  of  India,  1872-1876  \  was  created 

65  E 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

too.    Milady  will  have  told  you  what  a  Nass  I  made  of 

myself  when  I  suddenly  read  your  Appointment.  .  .  . 

Thank  her  very  kindly  about  the  Tor  di  Schiavi.1     It 

is  a  delight  to  me  that  you  and  she  will  have  it.     I 

will  write  to  Dickenson  to  fetch  it  away  from  Stratford 

Place,  and  she  will  order  it  to  be  sent  as  she  pleases. 

The  lovely  tin,  pleace  say,  may  be  paid  into  Messrs. 

Drummond    him's    Bank  —  Charing    Cross  —  to    my 

account.     Long  may  you  both  enjoy  the  picture. 

Thikphoggs   have   set   in  here,    and   one   can  see 

nothing. 

•  •  •  •  •  t  ■ 

Since  I  began  this  I  see  your  Fenians  are  still 
troublesome.  I  long  to  hear  about  the  Phaynix 
house,  and  I  daresay  Milady  will  kindly  write  to  me 
in  the  winter :  for  I  don't  expect  you  to  write  again. 
I  daresay  you  never  heard  me  speak  of  Dr.  Barry  2 — 
the  Army  Inspector  of  Hospitals  at  Corfu.  He  was 
old  then — ranking  as  a  General,  and  having  gone  thro' 
all  wars  since  1800.  He  is  just  dead,  and  has  been 
found  to  be  a  Woman. — A  mad  world  my  masters. 

Yrs.  affe. 

Ed.  Lear. 

an  Earl  in  1876.     One  of  Lear's  best  and  most  generous  friends 
and  patrons. 

1  M  Tor  di  Schiavi  Campagna  di  Roma,"  painted  in  1862,  was 
purchased  by  Lady  Waldegrave. 

2  James  Barry,  1795-1865,  Inspector  General  of  the  Army 
Medical  Department,  said  to  have  been  the  granddaughter  of  a 
Scotch  Earl,  entered  the  Army  as  hospital  assistant  attired  as  a 
man,  July  5,  1813.  She  was  described  as  uthe  most  skilful 
of  physicians  and  the  most  wayward  of  men,  in  appearance  a 
beardless  lad,  a  certain  effeminacy  in  his  manner  which  he  was 
always  -striving  to  overcome."  She  died  in  London  in  July, 
1855.  The  motive  of  her  disguise  was  supposed  to  be  love  for 
an  Army  Surgeon. 

66 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

9.  Via  Torri.    Sliema. 

Malta. 

23.  Janry  1866. 

My  dear  Lady  Waldegrave, — I  have  often 
wished  to  write — but  could  not  do  so — nor  can  I 
well  now.  I  often  too  have  thought  of  you  and 
C.S.P.F.  at  your  new  abode — of  which  he  gives  a 
nice  account :  I  fear  he  will  have  a  good  deal  of 
bother  yet  awhile — but  he  is  certainly  the  best  man 
to  meet  it,  and  it  will  prepare  him  for  higher  duties 
bye  and  bye. — I  have  been  miserable  here — at  Sir 
Henry  Storks  and  Barings  l  absence  first,  and  then 
of  dear  good  Strahans2  : — John  Peel  3  is  the  only  one 
I  have  left  to  whom  there  seems  to  be  any  tie, — 
although  nothing  can  exceed  the  kindness  of  the 
General  (Ridley) — the  Bishop,  and  everybody  else. 
Yet  you  know  I  am  not  gregarious  but  social,  and  the 
social  life  was  what  I  wanted.  Then  again,  the 
ONLY  place  vacant  and  fit  for  painting  was  this  vast 
house  3  miles  off — except  across  the  water,  a  mode  of 
journey  I  hate — and  so  one  is  pretty  isolated,  and  had 
not  my  good  servant  George  come  I  don't  know  how 
I  could  have  got  on.  I  was  obliged  however  to  take 
a  Maltese  boy  besides,  for  the  house  and  journeyings 
were  too  much  for  one. 

I  wish  I  had  heart  or  spirit  to  write  you  a  long 
letter  :  but  much  prevents  this  :  the  propinquity  of  the 

1  See  p.  58. 

2  J .  Strahan,  Aide-de-Camp  to  Sir  Henry  Storks  in  Corfu  and 
in  Malta,  afterwards  Governor  of  Tasmania,  the  Windward 
Isles,  &c. 

3  Major  Peel,  4th  son  of  Lt.-Gen.  the  Right  Hon.  J.  Peel,  had 
served  throughout  the  Crimean  War,  and  been  appointed 
Assistant  Military  Secretary  at  Malta  in  1864. 

67 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

noisy  sea,  and  the  high  wind  depress  me  abundantly, 
— my  sister — the  widow  * — is  very  unwell,  and  were 
she  to  get  worse  I  should  come  to  England  :  John 
Gibson  2  of  Rome — a  very  old  acquaintance — is  I 
think  dying — and  his  death  will  greatly  affect  my 
oldest  friend  there — Henry  Williams  : — these  things 
and  Mr.  Edwards  not  paying  me,  with  flies  and  a  pain 
in  my  toe  all  affect  me  at  once.  Bother.  The  only 
good  thing  is  that  your  picture  really  looks  very 
promising — whereas  last  week  I  nearly  cut  it  into 
slices.  My  love  to  C.F.  I  don't  write  to  him  as  he 
must  be  so  busy,  and  it  is  all  one. 

Believe  me,  Dear  Lady  Waldegrave, 
Yours  sincerely 

Edward  Lear. 

Lear  to  Lady   Waldegrave 

9.  Via  Torri.  Sliema.    Malta. 

13.  Feby.  1866. 

Your  last  very  kind  letter,  (with  C.S.P.F's  endorse- 
ment) ought  to  be  better  answered  than  it  will  be;  for, 
as  you  conjecture,  I  am  not  in  good  spirits — and  in 
fact  altogether  in  a  crooked  frame  of  mind.  Nor 
without  reason,  as  in  some  respects  I  never  passed  a 
less  pleasant  winter,  spite  of  the  set  off  of  Paradise 
weather,  no  cold  and  all  sun — and  of  having  nothing 
to  complain  of  so  far  as  life  made  easy  by  good  food 
and  servants,  goes.  But  on  the  other  hand,  the  loss 
of  Sir  Henry,  and  of  my  two  intimate  friends  Baring 
and  Strahan  has  been  a  shocking  one — for  though  by 

1  See  p.  47. 

2  The  sculptor,  who  revived  the  use  of  colour  in  statuary. 
Died  in  Rome  1866. 

68 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

nature  hating  crowds  and  hustle  and  gaiety,  yet  some 
social  sympathy  is  necessary  and  one  don't  get  any 
except  from  John  Peel,  and  the  General I  with 
whom  I  dine  once  a  fortnight.  But  the  former  is  a 
sad  invalid,  and  the  latter's  dinners  are,  tho'  good, 
uninteresting  to  me,  who  know  nothing  of  the  small 
talk  of  the  place  and  its  gossip  : — and  the  going 
across  to  Valetta  and  return  put  me  out  of  my  way  a 
good  deal.  The  Anglo-Maltese  intelligence  does  not 
seem  ever  to  have  heard  that  Artists  require  particular 
light,  aspect,  quiet,  etc :  and  because  I  cannot  have 
some  three  or  four  hundred  visitors  lounging  in  my 
rooms — I  am  dubbed  a  mystery  and  a  savage  : — tho' 
the  very  same  people  can  understand  that  they  could 
not  go  to  a  Lawyer's  or  Physician's  rooms  to  take 
up  his  hours  gratis.  Were  I  to  ask  a  Military  Cove, 
if  this  climate  on  account  of  its  dryness  required  him 
always  to  pour  water  down  his  gun  before  firing  it,  or 
a  Naval  one  if  he  weighed  anchor  before  he  sailed  or 
a  week  afterwards,  I  should  be  laughed  at  as  a  fool ; 
yet  many  not  much  less  silly  questions  are  asked  me. 
No  creature  has  as  yet  asked  for  even  a  £$  drawing, 
nor  have  I  sold  even  one  of  my  few  remaining  Corfu 
books.  My  rooms  though  spacious  are  painted,  one 
blue — one  orange — one  green — so  that  my  sight  is 
getting  really  injured  as  to  colour,  just  as  if  a  musical 
composer  should  have  to  work  in  the  midst  of  hundreds 
of  out  of  tune  instruments.  My  sister  Ellen  is  very 
unwell,  and  most  anxious  about  the  ship  my  New 
Zealand  sister2  sailed  in.     There  are  also  very  dis- 

1  General  Ridley. 

2  His  sister,  Sarah  Street,  married  and  settled  with  a  large 
family  at  Dunedin  in  New  Zealand. 

69 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

agreeable  reports  about  the  Atrato,  the  ship  J. 
Strahan  went  to  Jamaica  in.  From  Rome,  every 
week  has  brought  sadder  letters  and  Gibson's  near 
death  was  the  subject  of  the  last.  And  Mr.  Edwards, 
for  whom  I  painted  the  Jerusalem,  from  July  to 
November,  and  for  whom  I  made  it  so  large  a  picture 
on  account  of  auld  lang-syne,  has  never  paid  for  it, 
and  as  I  have  been  at  very  great  expense  here,  it  is 
most  fortunate  for  me  that  I  have  happened  this  last 
year  to  be  a  little  beforehand — and  that  you  bought 
my  Tor  di  Schiavi.  That's  enough  I  think  to  account 
for  non-liveliness  :  .  .  . 

To  many  people  however  Malta  ought  to  be  a 
charming  winter  residence  :  for  there  is  every  variety 
of  luxury,  animal,  mineral  and  vegetable — a  Bishop 
and  daughter,  pease  and  artichokes,  works  in  marble 
and  fillagree,  redmullet,  an  Archdeacon,  Mandarin 
Oranges,  Admirals  and  Generals,  Marsala  Wine  iod. 
a  bottle — religious  processions,  poodles,  geraniums, 
balls,  bacon,  baboons,  books  and  what  not.  The 
chief  person  here  after  the  Govr.  General,  and  top 
Admiral,  is  Lady  Hamilton  Chichester.  Mr.  Hook- 
ham  Frere,  who  married  her  aunt,  Lady  Erroll  left 
her  a  fine  house  and  gardens  and  I  suppose  she  is  a 
"power  in  the  State"  as  she  is  now  a  R.C.  and  I 
fancy  is  influential.  (She  was  a  Wallscourt  Blake.) 
After  Ash  Wednesday,  I  am  going  to  be  at  home  for 
3  days — to  Adml.  and  Ldy  Smart,  Adml.  Yelverton, 
Sir  V.  and  Ldy  Houlton  and  a  heap  more  :  I  wish 
they  were  all  in  Japan  or  Madagascar,  except  Admiral 
Y.  O !  that's  enough  about  myself  which  I  wish  I 
was  a  seagull  and  could  fly  off  to  Jaffa  at  once. — I 
am  delighted  at  your  account  of  your  and  C's  life  :  and 

70 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

everyone  seems  to  like  you  both  there,  which  I  looked 
for.  Nevertheless,  C.  must  have  had  a  great  deal  of 
anxiety,  for  it  is  not  to  be  supposed — seeing  what  is 
known  publicly  about  the  F[enians]  l — that  he  has  not 
many  more  rocks  and  breakers  to  think  of.  Some 
red-hot  Ulster  Protestants  here,  which  their  noble 
family  is  all  Orange,  give  me  a  good  idea  of  the 
sectarian  good  sense  he  must  have  to  deal  with.  I 
trust  however  that  all  will  come  tolerably  straight — 


(tho'  such  speeches  as  Mr.  Dillon's 2  don't  tend  to 
quiet  me,)  and  if  so,  that  then  C.S.P.F's  time  will 
come  for  doing  something  really  important  for  Ireland 
The  Parliament  will  be  most  interesting  this  year.  .   .  . 

1  This  month  saw  the  second  Fenian  rising  (the  first  was  in 
September,  1865)  ;  but  it  was  speedily  suppressed  by  the  sus- 
pension of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  in  Ireland.  Fortescue  went 
into  office  at  a  particularly  critical  time  in  Irish  affairs. 

2  John  Blake  Dillon,  a  leader  of  the  Young  Ireland  party,  an 
exile  from  1848  to  1855,  and  member  for  County  Tipperary  from 
1865  till  his  death  in  1866. 

71 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

What  a  busy  life  you  must  both  lead,  you  and  C.F  ! 
and  it  seems  to  me  that  you  are  exactly  the  right 
"t'other  half"  of  the  position — because  C's  nature 
wants  as  you  say  self-confidence,  and  that  you  are 
able  to  give  him.  Yet  the  finer  the  mind,  the  more 
(generally  speaking)  is  such  accompanied  by  the 
critical  disposition  :  and  he  who  foregoes  self-criticism 
must  sooner  or  later  get  into  a  groove,  and  stand  still 
— if  he  don't  fall  down.  Do  not  let  him  give  up  any 
horse  or  walking  exercise,  because  he  is  never  well 
without  that.  ...  At  present  however,  I  have  no 
more  energy  than  a  shrimp  who  has  swallowed  a 
Norfolk  Dumpling.     Goodbye. 

Sliema.    Malta. 

March  9.  1866 

If  you  have  any  leisure,  which  I  don't  very  well  see 
how  you  can,  I  hope  you  will  write  a  line  to  me  before 
I  leave  this  island.  Every  fresh  batch  of  newspapers 
keeps  me  in  not  a  little  anxiety  on  C.  F.'s  and  your 
account :  nor  does  the  Irish  cloudy  sky  appear  to  get 
brighter.  Even  without  the  help  of  Earl  R's  and  Sir 
G.  Grey's  speeches,  one  can  see  that  there  is  much 
more  than  outsiders  know, — and  now  that  Chichester 
has  to  go  through  his  election  again,  by  the  disgust- 
ing dodgery  of  the  Tories,  it  is  a  fresh  lot  of  trouble 
for  you  both.  I  hope  he  keeps  well  in  health  through 
these  odious  times  :  when  they  are  over,  I  trust  his 
reward  will  come,  in  being  able  to  do  something  really 
good  for  Ireland. 

...  I  have  hardly  ever  known  any  place  more 
melancholy  than  the  vast  Valetta  Palace — wanting 
the  life    of  Sir  Henry  Storks,  Baring  and  Strahan. 

72 


»•     •     •    •       •     * 


• •*  .  •      •  » 


*        ->         >    >   >  o    »     > 


3   i 

O    v. 


•   •  •"  •    *     '  *    •         • 


England,  Nice,   Malta,   Egypt,  Cannes 

The  two  latter  write  often  from  Jamaica :  Strahan's 
last  to  me  was  very  funny,  and  they  certainly  all  seem 
in  their  normal  state  of  high  spirits.  Crowds  of  swells 
have  been  to  me,  but  only  one  young  R.  A.  officer 
has  bought  or  thought  of  buying  a  drawing :  so  that 
;£io  and  £\2  from  sale  of  Ionian  books,  as  all  my 
winter  gains,  made  Mr.  Edwards'  pay  welcome 
enough.   .  .  . 

Father  Ignatius  ' — dressed  as  a  mucilaginous  monk 
— is  come  to  stay  here,  and  walks  about  like  a 
mediaeval  donkey. 


Valetta.     Malta. 

yolk  March,  1866. 

I  was  so  glad  to  get  your  long  letter  of  the  17th  on 
my  return  from  Gozo.  It  was  very  kind  of  you  to 
write,  as  I  was  in  an  orfle  fidgett  about  you  and  C.  I 
hope  now  to  know  by  the  papers  that  his  election  for 
Louth  is  well  over.  I  wish  he  instead  of  Sir  Some- 
body Gray  were  going  to  bring  in  the  Irish  Prot : 
Church  do  away  with  Bill,  as  I  wish  he  had  all  the 
credit.  .  .  .2 

I  was  very  glad  to  hear  you  think  well  of  the 
stability  of  Lord  R's  govt,  and  greatly  hope  it  will 
last.  I  wish  I  could  hear  C.  S.  P.  F.  "  speak  a 
speech,"  and  perhaps  when  I  come  back  I'll  have  a 

1  Father  Ignatius  was  the  name  assumed  by  Joseph  Leycester 
Lyne  j  he  received  Anglican  orders  in  i860,  and  in  1862  revived 
the  "  ancient  rule  of  St.  Benedict"  in  the  Church  of  England. 
He  settled  eventually  at  Llanthony  Abbey  in  Monmouthshire. 

3  The  abolition  of  the  Irish  Church  Establishment  was  finally 
decreed  in  1869. 

73 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

try.  I  am  glad  of  Miss  Money's  engagement I  :  any- 
how nobody  can  say  you  are  not  everything  that  is 
kind  to  all  about  you,  and  when  you  are  pleased  it  is 
a  pleasure  to  those  who  know  you.  .  .  .  The  Palestine 
trip  must  be  given  up  this  year.  The  cholera  is  so 
likely  to  re-appear  all  about  there  that  to  risk  40  days' 
lazaretto  with  nasty  people  would  be  madness.  .  .  . 
There  is  another  little  reason  for  not  going  to  Pales- 
tine, viz.  the  white  glare  of  this  place  is  hurting  my 
eyes,  and  an  additional  two  months  of  hot  sunwork  I 
fear  to  encounter. 

My  kind  love  to     >f5  * 

(P 

P.S.     I've  made  2  riddles. 
What  saint  should  be  the 

patron  of  Malta  ? 
Saint  Sea-bastian. 


And  why  are  the  kisses  of  mermaids  pleasant  at 
breakfast  ? 

a 
Because  they  are  a  kind  of  Water  CAresses. 

Hotel  della  Trinacria.    Messina. 

13.  April.  1866. 

Just  before   I   left  Malta,    I  was  glad  to  see  that 

1  Miss  Ida  Money,  daughter  of  General  and  Lady  Laura 
Money,  of  Crownpoint,  consequently  niece  by  marriage  to  Lady 
Waldegrave,  who  was  taking  her  out  in  society,  became  engaged 
in  Dublin  to  Major,  the  Hon.  Edmund  Boyle,  brother  of  the 
Earl  of  Cork,  Aide-de-Camp  to  Lord  Kimberley  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  Ireland,  and  afterwards  Gentleman  Usher  to  Earl 
Spencer. 

74 


England,  Nice,  Malta,   Egypt,  Cannes 

CSPF  was  re-returned  for  Louth  and  to  London, 
for  I  read  in  some  paper  or  other  that  you  and  he 
were  at  Strawberry.  So  my  anxieties  on  the  score  of 
Fenian  assassination  are  over.1  It  is  also  a  pleasure 
to  perceive  that  the  whole  of  the  big  bother  is  being 
finished  up,  unless  indeed  Canada  gives  fresh 
trouble.2 

I  left  Malta  on  the  ioth  in  a  fuliginous  flea-full 
Steamer,  and  got  here  on  the  Evening  of  the  nth — 
when  I  chose  to  leave  the  crowded  boat  and  wait  for 
M elver's  large  steamer,  the  Palestine,  which  should 
arrive  to-morrow  and  go  on  direct  to  Corfu,  Ancona, 
and  Trieste,  so  that  I  hope  to  be  at  the  latter  place 
before  the  20th.  Then  I  purpose  visiting  as  much  as 
I  can  of  Dalmatia — beginning  with  Pola,  and  ending 
if  possible  with  Montenegro : — all  which  being 
"done"  I  wish  to  be  back  by  the  1st  week  in  June. 
But  until  I  get  to  Trieste,  the  capital  or  base  of 
operations,  I  cannot  very  well  see  my  way.  Up  to 
the  evening  of  the  9th  I  had  almost  given  up  this  trip 
altogether,  as  the  reports  of  Austro-Italo  war  were 
getting  very  unpleasant,  and  were  war  to  break  out, 
all  the  Adriatic  would  be  shut  up.  .  .  . 

This  place  is  vastly  dirty.  Dirtyissimo.  But  it  is 
interesting  to  me  in  many  ways — and  looking  at 
Reggio  and  the  Calabrian  hills,  I  cannot  realize  that 
it  is  just  19  years  since  I  was  there  with  poor  John 
Proby.3     There    is  a  great  deal    of   discontent   here 

1  See  p.  71. 

2  The  Fenians  of  America  did  carry  out  their  threatened 
"  invasion  "  of  Canada,  and  occupied  Fort  Erie,  but  the  United 
States  enforced  the  neutrality  of  their  frontier. 

3  John,  Lord  Proby,  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of  Carysfort,  was 

75 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

and  in  many  parts  of  Italy  :  the  taxes  and  the  con- 
scription being  a  sore  which  worries  the  lower  class, 
and  is  used  as  a  worry  by  the  Bourbonites  and  priests. 
The  last  affair  at  Barletta  is  much  felt — if  not  much 
talked  of.  When  will  it  please  God  to  knock  religion 
on  the  head,  and  substitute  charity,  love,  and  common 
sense  ?  I  fear  me  poor  dear  Italy  has  a  great  many 
hard  trials  before  her  yet ;  and  as  strongly  do  I  hope 
she  will  get  over  them,  and  put  her  foot  on  those  who 


call  her  Atheist — they  themselves  being  if  not  Atheist 
— haters  of  God  and  man. 

I  was  sorry  in  some  respex  to  leave  Malta.  It  is 
impossible  to  say  how  constantly  kind  dear  good 
General   Ridley  has  been  to  me.     The  V.  Houltons 

were  also  so:    ditto    Lady  H.    C. — ' but  I  don't 

worship    her,    which    she    is    wiolent    and    spiteful, 
although  hospitable. 


one  of  Lear's  earliest  friends. 
of  35- 


He  died  in  1858,  at  the  age 


76 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

Did  I  tell  you  of  my  visit  to  Oudesh,  vulgarly  called 
Gozo?  It  was  a  most  pleasant  one,  and  with  the  aid 
of  Giorgio  I  drew  every  bit  of  it,  walking  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  a  day.  Its  Coast  scenery  may  truly  be 
called  pomskizlllious  and  gromphibberous,  being  as  no 
words  can  describe  its  magnificence.  I  have  also 
drawn  all  Malta — more  because  I  happened  to  be 
there,  and  some  work  had  to  be  done,  than  for  any 
good  it  is  likely  to  do  me.  My  whole  winter  gains — 
twenty-five  pounds, — must  remain  a  melanchollical 
reminiscence  of  the  rocky  island  and  its  swell  com- 
munity. 

It  will  be  curious  to  see  poor  Corfu  again  :  and  I 
will  write  from  Trieste,  where  I  have  dim  hopes  of 
finding  a  letter  from  you. 

15,  Stratford  Place.    Oxford  St. 

May  30.  /66. 

I  am  working  awfully  hard  to  complete  my  un- 
finished drawings,  so  as  to  open  my  Gallery  next 
week  if  possible. 

I  dined  yesterday  at  Lord  Westbury's.1  Ld.  W. 
seems  to  be  much  more  inclined  to  re-settle  in  Eng- 
land, and  in  various  ways  there  is  much  that  gives  me 
satisfaction.  I  am  to  dine  there  again  on  Friday. 
He  said  to  me — "  when  you  see  Lady  Waldegrave, 
give  her  my  kindest  remembrances — and  say  that  I 
have  not  left  a  piece  of  pasteboard  at  her  door, 
because  that  is  a  form  by  which  " — (so  I  understood 
him)  "the  amount  of  esteem  in  which  one  person 
holds  another  cannot  be  accurately  measured." 

I  hope  you  are  not  all  a-going  to  split  and  go  out 

1  Lord  Chancellor,  1861. 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

about  this  Redistribution  of  seats.1     On  Sunday  Mrs. 
M.  endeavoured  to  draw  from  me  if  I  knew  or  didn't 
know  anything  about  what  you  told  me  of  C.  S.  P.  F. 
— whereat  I  collapsed  into  a  vacuum  of  ignorance. 
My  love  to  said  See  Ess  Pee  Eff. 


To  Lady   Waldegrave. 

15,  Stratford  Place  Oxford  St. 

W. 
17  October  1866. 

My  dear  Lady  Waldegrave, — It  is  orfle  cold  here, 
and  I  don't  know  what  to  do.  I  think  I  shall  go 
to  Jibberolter,  passing  through  Spain,  and  doing 
Portigle  later.  After  all  one  isn't  a  potato — to 
remain  always  in  one  place. 

A  few  days  ago  in  a  railway  as  I  went  to  my 
sister's  a  gentleman  explained  to  two  ladies,  (whose 
children  had  my  "Book  of  Nonsense,")  that  thousands 
of  families  were  grateful  to  the  author  (which  in 
silence  I  agreed  to)  who  was  not  generally  known 
— but  was  really  Lord  Derby  :  and  now  came  a 
showing  forth,  which  cleared  up  at  once  to  my 
mind  why  that  statement  has  already  appeared  in 
several  papers.  Edward  Earl  of  Derby  (said  the 
Gentleman)  did  not  choose  to  publish  the  book 
openly,  but  dedicated  it  as  you  see  to  his  relations, 
and  now  if  you  will  transpose  the  letters  LEAR  you 
will  read  simply  EDWARD  EARL. — Says  I,  joining 
spontanious  in  the  conversation — "  That  is  quite  a 
mistake  :  I  have  reason  to  know  that   Edward  Lear 

1  Disraeli's  proposals  to  frame  a  Reform  Bill  "by  way  of 
resolutions,"  which  he  had  to  abandon. 

78 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

the  painter  and  author  wrote  and  illustrated  the 
whole  book."  "And  I,"  says  the  Gentleman,  says 
he — "have  good  reason  to  know  Sir,  that  you  are 
wholly  mistaken.  There  is  no  such  a  person  as 
Edward  Lear."  "  But,"  says  I,  there  is — and  I  am 
the  man — and  I  wrote  the  book ! "  Whereon  all 
the  party  burst  out  laughing  and  evidently  thought 
me  mad  or  telling  fibs.     So  I  took  off  my  hat  and 


showed  it  all  round,  with  Edward  Lear  and  the 
address  in  large  letters — also  one  of  my  cards,  and  a 
marked  handkerchief  :  on  which  amazement  devoured 
those  benighted  individuals  and  I  left  them  to  gnash 
their  teeth  in  trouble  and  tumult. 

Believe  me,  Dear  Lady  Waldegrave, 
Yours  sincerely, 

Edward  Lear 
79 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Grand  Hotel  du  Louvre. 
Marseille, 
ii.  December.     1866. 

I  am  glad  to  have  received  a  letter  from  you  just 
before  starting,  and  to  know  that  you  and  the  Mimber 
are  well,  and  have  been  so  happy.  I  am  off  to- 
morrow by  the  P.  &  O.  steamer — the  Pera — to 
Alexandria,  having  just  heard  that  Sir  H.  J.  Storks 
may  be  a  week  longer  before  he  comes,  and  if  a 
week  why  not  2  weeks  ?  or  3  ?  So  I  can't  dawdle 
any  more,  and  I  wish  now  that  I  had  gone  on  last 
week  by  the  Poonah.  As  it  was  I  went  to  Hyeres, 
and  St.  Tropez,  both  of  which  were  bosh.  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  go  in  for  a  Nile  and  Palestine 
move  :  as  I  may  have  no  better  opportunity  because, 
in  spite  of  Lords'  Stratford  and  Strangford's  nursing, 
the  sick  man x  will  be  more  of  an  invalid  before 
long  I  guess — and  his  dominions  will  not  be  good 
for  travelling  Topographers.  My  objects  on  the 
Nile  are,  (excepting  only  to  draw  Denderah  on  the 
lower  river,)  wholly  above  Philae — as  I  never  saw 
Nubia,  and  particularly  wish  to  get  drawings  of 
Ipsambul,  and  Ibreern.  If  I  can't  manage  this  I 
shall  make  for  Jerusalem  earlier  than  I  should  get 
to  the  second  cataract.  In  Palestine,  a  certain 
view  of  Jerusalem,  a  tour  to  Galilee,  Nazareth  (for 
a  picture  for  R.  M.  Milnes,2)  Carmel — Tiberias — 
Tyre  —  Sidon  —  Banias  —  and  if  possible    Palmyra. 

1  Lord  Strangford  was  at  that  time  at  Constantinople.  Lord 
Stratford  had  had  extraordinary  influence  as  ambassador  at 
Constantinople,  1842-1858.  The  "sick  man,"  of  course,  is 
Turkey. 

2  Richard  Monckton  Milnes,  Lord  Houghton,  the  poet. 

80 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

The  length  and  breadth  of  this   tour  will    however 
depend  on  many  circumstances. 


I  have  never  been  so  utterly  weary  of  6  months 
as  of  these  last  :  never  seeing  anything  but  the 
dreadful  brick  houses — and  latterly  suffering  from 
cold,  smoke  —  darkness  —  ach !  horror !  —  verily 
England  may  be  a  blessed  place  for  the  wealthy, 
but  an  accursed  dwelling  place  for  those  who  have 
known  liberty  and  have  seen  God's  daylight  daily 
in  other  countries.  By  degrees,  however,  (if  I  don't 
leave  it  by  the  sudden  collapse  of  mortality)  I  hope 
to  quit  it  altogether,  even  if  I  turn  Mussulman  and 
settle  at  Timbuctoo. 

Cairo.  March  9.  1867. 
I  wish  I  could  write  you  a  long  letter,  but  I  want 
to  thank  you  and  C.F.  for  your  help  before  the 
Mail  goes,  and  there  is  scanty  time  and  much  to 
do.  I  came  back  from  having  safely  performed  the 
first  half  of  my  journey — viz — the  Nile  and  Nubia, 
yesterday,  and  found  your  very  kind  letter,  as  well 
as  one  from  Messrs.  Drummond,  informing  me  of 
the  payment  of  One  Hundred  Pounds  which  you 
have  so  kindly  lent  me.  Conjointly  with  your  aid, 
assistance  also  came  to  me,  in  more  or  less  degree, 
from  Lord  Houghton,  Mrs.  Clive,  B.  Husey-Hunt, 
T.  Fairbairn,  John  E.  Cross,  F.  Lushington  and 
W.  Langton.  I  am  a  queer  beast  to  have  so  many 
friends.     I  am  so  pleased  the   Venice 1    is  so   much 

1  A  companion  picture  to  the  "Tor  di  Schiavi "  painted  in  1862 
for  Lady  Waldegrave.  They  both  hang  at  Chewton  Priory 
and  are  the  property  of  the  present  Earl  Waldegrave. 

81  F 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

liked,  but  it  is  quite  fit  and  right  that  CSPF  should 
like  it  less  than  your  portrait :  so  long  as  it  ranks 
next  I  am  well  content.  I  should  like  to  see  Rich- 
mond's drawing  of  C.1  I  hope  he  won't  make  him 
clerical  and  holy  and  soft,  he  being  neither.  What 
an  awfully  cold  winter  you  seem  to  have  had !  and 
in  other  respects  not  a  pleasing  one,  particularly 
as  regards  Fenianism.  I  hear  just  now  that  Lord 
Cranbourne,  General  Peel  and  Lord  Carnarvon  have 
left  the  Government 2 — will  it  break  up  and  cease,  or 
join  Gladstone,  or  what  next  ?  I  should  like  to  have 
read  C's  letter, 3  but  I  get  no  sight  of  papers  now, 
as  directly  they  are  devoured,  off  they  go  and  no 
old  ones  exist.  The  Consul  General  here,  Colonel 
Stanton,  R.E.4  and  Mrs.  S.  are  very  good-natured, 
but  I  am  not — after  rising  as  I  do  at  5.30  and 
writing  all  day — up  to  going  into  "SOCIETY "at 
9  or  10.  In  a  few  days  I  go  to  Memphis  for  a 
day  or  two — to  wind  up  my  Egyptian  work,  and 
then  I  hope  to  start  across  what  is  called  the  short 
desert — for  Gaza,  Askalon,  and  Ashdod :  and  if  I 
chance  to  find  a  nosering  of  Delilah  with  Samson's 
hair  set  in  it,  won't  I  pick  it  up  ?     Then,  after  a  time 

1  I  never  heard  of  this  picture.  I  do  not  think  it  ever  took 
shape,  or  is  confounded  by  Mr.  Lear  with  a  drawing  by  Watts. 

2  Lear  refers  to  the  split  in  the  ministry  on  the  Reform  and 
Borough  Franchise. 

3  C.  F.'s  letter  of  the  4th  of  February  to  the  Times,  in  which 
he  advocated  the  passing  of  a  Land  Bill,  and  condemned  Lord 
Dufferin  for  seeming  to  wish  "  to  let  well  or  ill  alone." 

4  Sir  Ed.  Stanton,  K.C.M.G.,  General  (retired),  entered  the 
Royal  Engineers,  1844.  Consul-General  at  Warsaw,  i860. 
Agent  and  Consul-General  in  Egypt,  1865.  Charge  d' Affaires, 
at  Munich,   1876. 

82 


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England,  Nice,   Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

and  times  and  half  a  time  at  Jerusalem,  I  trust  to  go 
to  Nazareth,  on  the  score  of  M.  Milnes'  picture. 
The  Sea  of  Galilee,  the  City  on  a  hill  which  cannot 
be  id,  the  site  of  the  cursed  cursive  concurrent  pigs, 
Endor  with  or  without  a  witch,  and  other  places  are 
to  be  visited :  if  possible,  Gilead  and  Gerarh,  and 
if  possibler,  Palmyra.  Also  Canobeen  and  other 
Lebanon  places,  so  that  from  Berut  I  may  come 
back  by  Carmel  and  on  to  Jaffa,  and  Alexandria, 
and  thence  by  Italy  to  England  early  in  July.  I 
hope  then  that  I  shall  have  done  with  all  this  part 
of  Asiatic  topography,  and  that  I  shall  be  able  to  pro- 
juice  two  worx — one  on  Egypt — t'other  on  Palestine. 
Nubia  delighted  me,  it  isn't  a  bit  like  Egypt, 
except  that  there's  a  river  in  both.  Sad,  stern, 
uncompromising  landscape,  dark  ashy  purple  lines 
of  hills,  piles  of  granite  rocks,  fringes  of  palm,  and 
ever  and  anon  astonishing  ruins  of  oldest  temples  : 
above  all  wonderful  Abou  Simbel,  which  took  my 
breath  away.  The  second  cataract  also  is  very 
interesting,  and  at  Philae  and  Denderah  I  got  newT 
subjects  besides  scores  and  scores  of  little  atomy 
illustrations  all  the  way  up  and  down  the  river. 
An  "  American  "  or  Montreal  cousin  was  with  me 
above  Luxor,  but  he  was  a  fearful  bore  ;  of  whom 
it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  he  whistled  all  day 
aloud,  and  that  he  was  "  disappointed "  in  Abou 
Simbel.  You  can't  imagine  the  extent  of  the 
American  element  in  travel  here !  They  are  as 
twenty-five  to  one  English.  They  go  about  in 
dozens  and  scores — one  dragoman  to  so  many — and 
are  a  fearful  race  mostly.  One  lot  of  sixteen,  with 
whom  was  an  acquaintance  of  my  own,  came  up  by 

83 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

steamer,  but  outvoted  my  friend,  who  desired  to  see 
the  Temple  of  Abydos  because  "  it  was  Sunday,  and 
it  was  wrong  to  break  the  Sabbath  and  inspect  a 
heathen  church."  Whereon  the  Parson  who  was 
one  of  the  party  preached  three  times  that  day, 
and  Mr.  my  friend  shut  himself  up  in  a  rage.  Would 
it  be  believed,  the  same  lot,  Parson  and  all,  went 
on  arriving  at  Assouan — on  a  Sunday  evening — to 
see  some  of  those  poor  women  whose  dances 
cannot  be  described,  and  who  only  dance  them  by 
threats  and  offers  of  large  sums  of  money?  As  all 
outer  adornment  of  the  person — except  noserings 
and  necklaces,  are  dispensed  with  on  these  occasions, 
the  swallowing  of  camels  and  straining  at  gnats  is 
finely  illustrated.  At  Luxor  I  frequently  saw  Lady 
Duff  Gordon,  but  on  my  return  she  had  broken  a 
blood  vessel,  and  is  now  reported  very  ill  indeed. 
She  is  doubtless  a  complete  enthusiast,  but  very 
clever  and  agreeable.  I  heard  there  of  the  death 
of  my  poor  friend  Holman  Hunt's  wife  l  at  Florence, 
and  I  find  very  affecting  letters  from  her  sister. 
Poor  Daddy  2  is  still  at  Florence  where  some  friends 
take  charge  of  his  motherless  boy.  Meanwhile  it  is 
getting  very  hot  here,  and  the  flies  are  becoming 
most  odious  and  unscrupulous.  As  a  whole  this 
Shepherd's  Hotel  (or  Zech's  as  it  is  called  now,)  is 
more  like  a  pigstye  mixed  with  a  beargarden  or  a 
horribly  noisy  railway  station  than  anything  that  I 

1  Miss  Waugh. 

2  Lear  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  Pre-Raphaelites  and 
considered  Holman  Hunt  his  artistic  father.  Hence  the  nick- 
name "  Daddy,"  though  Holman  Hunt  was  many  years  his 
junior. 

84 


England,  Nice,   Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

can  compare  it  to.  To  add  to  my  difficulty  in  writing 
I  have  miserable  toothache  and  Neuralgia,  so  I 
must  stop. 

My  kindest  regards  to  you  and  the  Mimber. 
P.S.     As  I  passed  Philse  going  up — just  at  sunset — 
the  very  same  effect  of  the  Due  D'Aum&le's  x  picture 
was  over  it. 

Lear  to  Fortes  cue. 

15,  Stratford  Place, 
Oxford  St. 

9  August,  1867. 

My  dear  Excelscue, — (N.B. — XL  is  40).  I  was 
so  sorry  not  to  have  been  at  home  when  you  came,  as 
scissors  and  grasshoppers  only  know  when  we  may 
meet  again  :  you  certainly  do  all  you  can  to  see  me, 
but  the  conditions  of  life  are  against  your  so  doing. 

I  had  gone  to  my  sisters  2 — the  first  and  only  time 
since  I  returned — and  the  fourth  time  only  that  I  have 
left  London — the  other  three  being  to  B.  Husey  Hunt, 
to  Alfred  Tennyson,  and  to  Strawberry.  I  cannot 
recall  two  months  of  my  life  more  wearying  and 
distressing — shut  up  literally  all  the  day,  day  after 
day — (the  only  means  of  getting  even  a  chance  of  a 
livelihood ;)  with  nothing  but  brick  walls  and  cursed 
cats  to  look  at  outside,  with  a  climate, — the  first  month 
bitter  winter  cold  and  the  second  perpetual  darkness 
and  pouring  rain  :  and  with  neuralgia  usually  as  well — 
or  more  strictly  speaking — as  bad. 

Were  it  possible  to  avoid  doing  so  I  would  gladly 
never  come  to  England  again — so   disgusted   am    I 

1  A  picture  Lear  had  painted  for  the  Duke. 

2  His  sister,  Elinor  Newsom,  the  widow. 

85 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

with  all  therein  and  thereof  at  present.  Very  happily 
for  me,  my  queer  natural  elasticity  of  temperament 
does  not  at  all  lead  me  to  the  morbids — "  suicide  "  or 
what  not, — but  on  the  contrary  to  Abercrombical * 
reflexions  on  life  in  general.  Sometimes  I  make 
considerable  progress  in  my  new  Book  of  Nonsense — 
(which  I  hope  will  help  me  to  Nazareth — I  mean 
Nazareth  in  Syria,)  and  sometimes  I  consider  as  to 
the  wit  of  taking  my  Cedars  out  of  its  frame  and 
putting  round  it  a  border  of  rose  coloured  velvet, 
embellished  with  a  fringe  of  yellow  worsted  with  black 
spots,  to  protypify  the  possible  proximate  propinquity 
of  predatorial  panthers — and  then  selling  the  whole 
for  floorcloth  by  auction. 

By  the  bye,  the  original  Abercromby  2  book  fell  up 
two  days  ago — as  I  was  by  degrees  moving  all  my 
books  upstairs.  Also  five  volumes  of  Byron,  the  fifth 
of  which  you  stole,  or  rather  borrowed  and  never 
returned.  I  don't  want  it  however  a  bit,  for  I've  got  a 
better  edition  :  and  some  day  I  will  pitch  the  remain- 
ing five  vols  out  of  window  as  you  get  into  a 
Nansen  Cab,  just  as  you  drive  off. 

On  Thursday  I  dined  at  the  Viscountess  Strangford 
— which  the  party  was  very  agreeable  :  "  Foffy  "  Cur- 
cumelli  3  also.  And — speaking  of  visits,  yesterday 
Lady  Franklin  4  passed  an  hour  here,  looking  at 
every  one  of  my  drawings  with  the  Zeal  of  a  Girl  of  25. 

1  "  Abercrombical"  was  a  favourite  adjective  of  Lear's, and  I 
think  he  must  have  been  referring  to  the  writings  of  Dr.  John 
Abercrombie,  the  well-known  philosophical  and  metaphysical 
writer,  who  died  in  1844. 

2  Probably  "  The  Philosophy  of  the  Moral  Feelings." 

3  See  p.  58.  4  Wife  of  the  celebrated  Arctic  explorer. 

86 


number    of    Pawn- 


England,   Nice,   Malta,   Egypt,   Cannes 

My  sister  showed  me  some  beautiful  drawings  of 
■1  Sister  Sarah  "  I-~- just  sent  from  N.Z. — flowers— and 
a  large  panoramic  view — she  is  a  wonderful  old  lady 
—at  73  ! 

I  shall  write  to  you  before  the  Ortum  begins,  from 

Stratton.  .  .  . 

As  for  me,  I  stay  at  Stratton  and  Selbourne  till  I 
come  back  to  town  to  finish  two  small  copies  of  the 
Seeders  :  and  then  comes  the  moving  upstairs— or 
into  the  Pamteggnikon — as  yet  I  don't  know  which. 

What  nation  talks  the  greatest  nonsense  ? 

The  Boshmen  ! 

And   where   are   the  greatest 
brokers'  shops  ? 

Among  the  Pawnee  Indians. 

0  child  !  climb  up  a  high  tree 
at  Chewton 2  and  compose  a 
pamphlet  on  the  follies  of  the 
world  in  general,  and  more  par- 
ticularly of  your  very  misbegot- 
ten and  affectionate  friend, 

Aug.  ioth. 

1  read  this  over  to-day,  and  tho'  it  is  very  absurd 
shall  send  it.     Adieu  ! 

Lewes.  24.  Novbr.  1867. 
Life,  my  child,  is  a  bore.  ...  I  didn't  write  a  note 
to  you  about  your  Toe  3  as  I  had  wished  to  do,  in 
which  I  meant  to  have  recommended  you  to  study  the 
book  of  Tobity  and  to  drink  a  glass  of  Zi?kay,  but  not 
too  much  for  fear  you  should  go  down   into  Zipphet, 

1  The  wonderful  Sarah  Street  of  the  first, volume. 

2  Chewton  Priory,  Lady  Waldegrave's  Somerset  home. 

3  A  broken  chilblain. 

87 


*7»  Jfi)nwl     y 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

and  there  be  burned  like  Tow :  you  should  also  have 
been  told  to  eat  Tbmatas,  by  way  of  soothing  your 
Zbmartyrdom,  and  in  a  word  I  should  have  totally 
punned  the  matter  bare  and  out  and  out.  In  the 
meantime  don't  be  careless  about  your  foot,  as  toes  are 
not  to  be  trifled  with. 

I  go  early  to-morrow  by  Hastings  to  Folkestone — 
to  cross  on  Tuesday  :  and  by  Thursday  hope  to  be  at 
Cannes.  .  .  . 

P.S.  W.  Neville  came  to  me.  My  sister  I  found 
sadly  deaf ;  but  tho'  alone  she  has  three  servants  who 
have  been  about  her  thirty  odd  years. 

P. P.S.  Holman  Hunt  has  been  painting  a  large 
picture  from  Keats'  pome  of  Isabella. 

Villa  Montaret, 

No.  6.    Rue  St.  Honore, 

Cannes.    Alpes  Maritimes. 
Dec.  26.  1867. 

I  don't  like  not  to  send  New  Year's  good  wishes  to 
you  and  My  Lady,  so  I  shall  write  a  note  if  never  so 
short ;  all  the  more  that  up  to  now  I  have  had  no  heart 
to  write,  but  this  morning  has  begun  with  a  run  of 
good  luck  that  both  you  and  Lady  W.  will  be  glad  to 
hear  of. 

"  The  Cedars  "  are  at  last  sold — not  by  any  means 
for  the  sum  I  wished,  nor  even  for  a  third,  but  still 
they  will  be  well  placed,  and  thoroughly  appreciated, 
and  I  shall  get  £6  a  year  out  of  the  critters  for  the  rest 
of  my  life,  if  I  can  contrive  to  put  the  money  into  the 
three   per   cents.      Louisa,   Lady  Ashburton,1  is  the 

1  The  friend  of  Carlyle.  She  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
the  Rt.  Hon.  James  Stewart  Mackenzie,  nephew  of  the  Earl  of 

88 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

purchaser,  and  they  will  go  to  Melchet  Court,  Rom- 
sey  for  their  fewcherome.  Then  Dr.  Montague 
Butler  of  Harrow1  has  just  been  here — and  Mrs. 
Butler  is  going  to  have  one  of  my  £\2  drawings  :  and 
indeed  it  was  high  time,  for  I  was  getting  into  a  mess, 
and  had  no  heart  to  write  to  anybody. 

I  had  to  take  very  expensive  rooms  here — sun- 
aspect  for  health — light  to  work,  and  position  etc.  for 
swells  to  come  to,  were  all  necessary,  and  I  have 
hitherto  been  in  despair  that  no  one  out  of  over  fifty 
people  who  have  called  have  as  yet  bought  anything. 
Let  us  hope  the  luck  is  turned. 


About  two  thousand  English  are  here,  and  among 
other  amusing  facts  no — less  than  twenty-five  Eton 
boys  came  out  in  one  batch  for  their  holidays  last  week ! 

Interruptions  from  people — Mrs.  Butler2  has  two 
small  7  pounders  instead  of  one  large  12.  (She  is 
a  niece  of  Lady  Hislop.)  So  I  can't  go  on  with  this 
letter  ;  I  must  stop,  as  the  watch  said  when  a  beetle 
got  into  his  wheels. 

Lady  Strachey's  brother  3  is  near  here  :  he  and  Mrs. 
Symonds  are  a  gain. 

Galloway.     She  married  the  2nd  Baron  Ashburton,  who  died  in 
1864.    This  picture,  I  believe,  was  afterwards  burnt. 

1  Dr.  Montague  Butler,  formerly  head  master  of  Harrow  1859- 
1885,  Dean  of  Gloucester  1886,  Master  of  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge, married  as  his  second  wife  1888,  Miss  Agneta  Ramsay, 
Senior  Classic  of  the  year. 

2  Georgina  Isabella,  granddaughter  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  Hugh 
Elliot,  Minister  at  the  Court  of  Frederick  the  Great. 

3  John  Addington  Symonds,  the  well-known  writer.  Elected 
a    Fellow   of    Magdalen    1862  ;    published    numerous    works 

89 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

To  Lady  Waldegrave. 

Villa  Montaret, 

6.  Rue  St.  Honore. 

Cannes.    Alpes  Maritimes. 

January  9.  1868. 

A  happy  New  Year  to  you  and  the  Mimber  !  Just 
as  I  was  going  to  bed  last  night  the  preliminary 
pusillanimous  peripatetic  postman  brought  me 
CSTRPQF's  letter — date  the  4th,  which  I  beg  you 
will  thank  him  for — for  it  was  exceedingly  welcome. 
The  weather  has  been  so  beeeeeestly  cold  here,  and 
these  lodgings  are  so  venomously  odious  in  some 
respects,  that  I  get  perfectly  cross  and  require  to  be 
soothed  by  letters  now  and  then.  I  am  very  glad  you 
and  C  have  had  that  Growling  Eclogue r  I  wrote 
from  Lady  Strachey  :  I  enclose  another  bit  of  fun, 
for  some  child  or  other — (I  wrote  it  for  Lady 
Strachey  s  niece,  little  Janet  Symonds  :)  if  Lady  S. 
has  a  small  enough  creature  not  to  scorn  it,  perhaps 
you  will  give  it  to  her  for  its  use,  and  anyhow  I  hope 
she  has  been  thanked  for  her  letter  to  Lady  Suffolk. 
(The  original  poem  of  the  Growl,  had  a  line — altered 
afterwards  thus — "nearly — run  over  by  the  Lady 
Mary  Peerly  " — stood — "  all  but,  run  over  by  the 
Lady  Emma  Talbot" — which  was  fact — but  I  sup- 
pressed it  as  too  personal.2)  While  I  am  in  a  lucid 
interval  before  breakfast,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  think 
of  doing.     For  in  the  first  place  it  seems  to  me  that 

"  Renaissance  in   Italy,"  also  sketches  of  travel,  monographs, 
and  translations.     He  died  at  Rome  in  1893. 

1  Interlocutors — Mr.  Lear  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Symonds — to 
be  found  in  Warne's  "  Nonsense  Songs  and  Stories,"  by  Edward 
Lear.     9th  and  revised  edition,  1894. 

2  This  poem  I  cannot  trace. 

90 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

luck  has  turned,  inasmuch  as  Dr.  Butler  of  Harrow, 
Mr.  Buxton,  and  more  especially  Sir  Richard  Glass 
have  all  bought  drawings  :  and  as  I  know  that  Lord 
Mt.  Edgecumbe  is  coming,  and  also  Lord  Henry 
Scott — and  I  hope  many  more — I  think  there  cannot 
be  much  doubt  that  Cannes  will  be  the  best  winter 
place  I  can  select. 

...  At  present  I  am  not  drawing  at  all  nor  paint- 
ing— but  writing :  the  rough  copy  of  my  Cretan 
journals  is  done,  and  nearly  that  of  the  Nile  1854  : 
the  Nubia  of  1867  will  follow,  and  I  mean  to  get  all 
three  ready  for  publication  with  illustrations,  if  possible 
next  summer,  whether  in  parts  or  volumes  I  can't  yet 
say.  By  degrees  I  want  to  topographize  and  topo- 
graphize  all  the  journey ings  of  my  life,  so  that  I  shall 
have  been  of  some  use  after  all  to  my  fellow  critters 
besides  leaving  the  drawings  and  pictures  which  they 
may  sell  when  I'm  dead.  This  plan  of  a  winter  home 
here,  I  don't  think  I  could  carry  out  easily,  for  I  have 
no  head  for  bother,  if  I  hadn't  my  old  servant  Giorgio, 
who  cooks,  markets,  and  keeps  the  house  clean  so 
systematically  that  I  have  no  trouble  whatever : 
though  neither  he  nor  his  master  at  all  like  the 
cold  weather  here,  which  in  three  large  cold  rooms 
is  horrid.  (Just  now  I  said  to  this  man,  "Why 
Giorgio,  there  is  ten  minutes  difference  between  my 
watch  and  the  hall  clock  since  Sunday!  which  is 
wrong  of  the  two  ?  is  my  watch  ten  minutes  too  slow 
or  the  clock  ten  minutes  too  fast?"  "Your  watch  is 
all  right  Sir"  said  he  grimly  "  because  he  very  warm 
in  your  pocket :  clock  stand  out  in  the  cold  hall,  he 
go  faster  to  warm  himself.")  .  .  . 

Meanwhile    the    mass    of    English    here    is    quite 

91 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

curious,  and  every  bit  of  ground  near  the  place 
seems  to  be  for  sale  at  great  prices.  But  so  scattered 
and  detached  are  the  villas  and  hotels,  and  so  dirty- 
are  the  roads,  that  very  few  people  see  much  of 
others,  unless  they  keep  carriages.  The  Symonds 
are  pretty  near  me,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  he  is  not 
nearly  as  well  as  he  was,  and  has  to  be  kept  so  quiet 
that  I  shall  hardly  see  him  now  * — which  is  a  great 
loss — as  a  more  charming  and  good  fellow  I  never 
met,  besides  so  full  of  knowledge  and  learning.  A 
friend  of  his,  one  Mr.  Sedgwick — a  fellow  of  Trinity 
College  Cambridge,  dines  with  me  to-day,  but  I  can't 
ask  poor  John  Symonds.  (We  are  to  have  soup,  and 
a  curried  fowl,  a  roast  lamb  and  stewed  pears  :  and 
one  gets  divine  Marsala  cheap.)  By  way  of  what  a 
Scotch  friend  calls  "  femmel  society,"  William  and 
Mrs.  W.  Sandbach  are  next  door :  she  is  Dutch  and 
was  one  of  the  Queen  of  Holland's  ladies,2  (The 
Queen  stays  with  them  sometimes  in  England),  very 
intelligent  and  kindly.  Lady  Grey  3  (Honble.)  and 
Miss  Des  Voeux  are  near  :  Lady  Glass,  Mrs.  (Suther- 
land) Scott  and  others  are  all  near  on  this  side:  the 
other  side  I  don't  affect,  it  is  such  a  brutal  road  full  of 
carriages  :  but  there  are  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  Lord 
and    Lady  H.   Scott,   Lord    Mt.    Edgcumbe,    Elcho, 

1  Mr.  Symonds'  health  had  been  very  delicate  from  lung 
trouble  for  many  years,  but  later  on  he  discovered  and  estab- 
lished himself  permanently  at  Davos,  where  he  led  an  active 
life  till  his  death,  and  where  all  his  later  books  were  written. 

2  Maid  of  Honor  to  Queen  Sophia  of  the  Netherlands,  was 
before  her  marriage  Mademoiselle  Sara  de  Capellen. 

3  Wife  of  the  Hon.  Sir  George  Grey,  G.C.B.,  Governor  and 
later  Premier  of  New  Zealand.  She  was  Charlotte,  only 
daughter  of  Sir  Charles  Des  Voeux,  ist  Baronet. 

92 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

Brougham,  Lady  Houghton,  Bradford,  Limerick, 
Dalhousie,  and  crowds  more.  There  too  is  the 
Parsonic  home  and  then  the  Church,  where  I  go 
sometimes,  but  you  can't  get  out  when  once  you  are 
in  for  the  crowd,  and  when  you  do  get  out  you  are 
smashed  instantly  by  the  carriages.  Cannes  is  a  place 
literally  with  no  amusements  :  people  who  come  must 
live,  just  as  you  and  CF  do  now  at  Chewton,  abso- 
lutely to  themselves  in  a  country  life,  or  make  excur- 
sions to  the  really  beautiful  places  about  when  the 
weather  permits.  I  know  no  place  where  there  are 
such  walks  close  to  the  town  :  and  the  Esterel  range 
is  what  you  can  look  at  all  day  with  delight.  Only 
for  the  last  week  it  has  been  atrocious  weather,  rain 
and  cold :  the  hills  are  covered  with  snow,  and  the 
sun  don't  shine.  Nevertheless  there  is  no  fog  of  any 
sort;  and  with  all  this  cold,  I  have  no  Neuralgia 
which  amazes  me.  .  .  . 

Give  my  love  to  Chichester  and  thank  him  for  his 
letter :  tell  him  I  will  set  his  l  verses  to  music,  and 
publish  them  dedicated  to  him.  I  hope  Lord  Cler- 
mont2 is  better.  How  distressing  all  these  wretched 
matters  in  England  and  Ireland  are  ! 

Do  you  not  wish,  since  the  Holy  Father  is  so 
determined  an  enemy  of  Italy,  and  so  outrageously 
opposite  in  conduct  to  the  rules  of  Him  whom  he 
professes  to  represent,  that  someone  in  the  Italian 
Parliament  might  venture  to  propose  an  entire  separa- 
tion religiously,  by  creating  a  Pontiff  in  Milan  or 
Florence,    abolishing    celibacy,    in    fact    making    a 

1  I  greatly  regret  I  have  not  found  these. 

2  Lord  Clermont  was  the  elder  brother  of  Fortescue.  He 
had  married  a  daughter  of  the  Marquis  of  Ormond. 

93 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Henry   VIII    reform,    only   not   Calvinistic?     Could 

not  such  a  member  point  out  that  Russia,  as  well  as 
England,  Holland,  Prussia,  are  all  exe- 
crated by  the  blasphemous  violence  of 
those  monstrous  Popes,  and  yet  not- 
withstanding are  the  most  flourishing  of 
peoples  and  lands?  Would  not  a 
torrent  of  ridicule  thrown  on  insolent 
and    uncharitable    pretension    do    some 

good  ?     Ask  Count  Maffei I  :  I  am  miserable  at  times 

about  Italy,  but  always  hope  on. 

Meanwhile  I  shall  have  tired  your  ize  :  so  I  will 

conclude. 

Lady   Waldegrave  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 
Feb.  10.  /68. 

We  were  delighted  to  hear  that  you  had  not  only 
sold  your  fine  Cedars,  but  found  an  appreciative  public 
at  Cannes.  Your  idea  of  taking  a  permanent  Studio 
there  sounds  jolly  and  likely  to  be  prosperous.  I 
quite  understand  your  horror  of  the  fogs  and  fogies 
of  London  in  winter,  and  with  you  a  natural,  neutral, 
Indian  ink  spirits  climate  must  have  an  immense  effect 
upon  your  well  or  ill-being. 

We  are  groaning  at  having  to  leave  this  dear 
place  to-morrow  for  hateful  London.  We  have  been 
immensely  happy  here  in  spite  of  all  sorts  of  little 
worries,  broken  chilblains,  Mendip  mists,  East  winds, 
weak  eyes,  .  .  .  etc.,  etc. 

1  Secretary  to  the  Italian  Legation  in  London. 
94 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

.  .  .  We  hear  that  Lord  Derby  will  be  obliged  to 
resign  as  his  health  is  completely  broken.1  Lord 
Stanley  is  expected  to  take  his  place.  His  speech  at 
Bristol  has  done  him  great  harm  in  Ireland  and  no 
good  here.2 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

7,  Carlton  Gardens,  Feb.  22. 
My  Lady  handed  me  this  document  the  day 
before  we  left  Chewton,  with  a  command  that  I 
should  finish  it  forthwith  and  despatch  it  to  Cannes. 
I  was  full  of  Steward's  accounts,  gardener's  accounts, 
etc,  etc,  put  it  into  my  box,  and  there  it  has  remained 
until  this  present  writing.  We  were  very  sorry  to 
leave  Chewton,  where  we  passed  some  very  quiet 
and  especially  happy  months.  But  "  noblesse 
oblige,"  or  rather  the  duties  of  a  politician  oblige. 
Mrs.  Gladstone  wrote  just  at  the  same  time  :  "  My 
husband  has  been  so  happy  here  "  (Hawarden),  "he 
feels  like  a  schoolboy  going  back  to  school."  I  wish 
by  the  way  he  wouldn't  write  devout,  fanciful,  un- 
critical articles  on  "  Ecce  Homo  "  in  "  Good  Words." 3 
I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  him  and  of  Lord  Russell 
about  Irish  affairs.  The  letter  of  Lord  Russell  to 
me  4  has  caused    much   interest,  especially  his  resig- 

1  Lord  Derby  resigned  the  Premiership  in  Disraeli's  favour 
during  the  year.     He  died  in  1869. 

2  Lord  Stanley  was  Foreign  Secretary  at  this  time. 

3  Mr.  Gladstone's  article  in  "  Good  Words  "  on  "  Ecce  Homo  " 
(Sir  J.  R.  Seeley's  book,  which  appeared  anonymously  in  1865)  did 
not  give  his  opinion  on  the  book,  but  his  ideas  on  irrelevant  theo- 
logical matters,  having  no  reference  to  the  view  taken  in  the  book 
of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  Christianity. 

«  "  A  Letter  to  the  Rt.  Hon.  C.  Fortescue." 

95 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

nation,  in    very  handsome    terms,  of   the   leadership 
to  Gladstone. 

Lord  Derby  was  thought  to  be  dying,  but  has 
rallied.  Stanley  told  me  yesterday  that  he  was 
"going  on  as  well  as  possible."  But  it  is  fully 
believed  that  at  Easter,  if  not  sooner,  he  will  hand 
over  the  Prime  Ministership  to  Dizzy !  Stanley 
supports  Dizzy — and  the  Squires  acquiesce,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  triumphs  of  last  year.1  I  am  glad 
to  see  that  Colenso  is  vanquishing  his  enemies  at 
Natal  in  the  Law  Courts,  having  gained  a  complete 
victory  over  Dean  Green.2  The  Bishop  of  London 
behaved  very  well  about  the  intended  rival  Bishop, 
and  repulsed  that  ill-conditioned  bigot,  Bishop 
Gray.  3  .  .  . 

Lear  to  Fortescue. 

Villa  Montaret.    6,  Roosent  Onnoray. 

24th  Febbirowerry  1868 
Ritten  at  night. 

I  "remained  confounded" — as  my  servant  George 
says  when  he  is  surprised — "rimasto  confuso" — by 
getting  a  letter  from  you  and  my  lady  at  once  just 
now  from  the  peripatetic  postman,  whom  in  the 
street  near  my  new  lodgings  I  met.  (The  said 
Postman  greets  me  always  with  great  enthusiasm 
and  respect ;  since  after  a  week  had  passed  without 
his  bringing   letters — I    said   to   him :    "  Savez  vous 

1  The  passing  of  the  Reform  Bill  of  1867. 

a  Colenso  had  appealed  to  the  Court  of  Chancery  and  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls  had  given  judgment  in  his  favour  ;  in  con- 
sequence his  salary  was  restored  to  him. 

3  Bishop  of  Cape  Town  from  1847,  in  1863  he  had  pronounced 
Colenso's  deposition. 

96 


England,  Nice,   Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

pourquoi  il  n'y  a  pas  de  lettres?  C'est  parcequ*  en 
Angleterre  il  fait  si  froid  qu'on  ne  peut  plus  tenir 
la  plume  en  main ! " — "  C'est  done  terrible  9a, 
Monsieur ! " — said  he,  and  now  as  a  burst  of  letters 
have  turned  up,  he  says — "  Voyez  done  Monsieur,  le 
froid  commence  a  passer !  Dieu !  comme  il  a  du 
faire  froid  la  bas ! "  l)  For, — to  return  to  the  first 
line, — I  have  intended  to  write  to  you  ever 
so  long  a  time  past ;  but  at  night  I  can't  do  so 
easily,  and  the  days  are  so  broken  up  and  be- 
bothered  :  So,  as  Pistol  says — a  things  must  be  as 
they  may" — I  was  reading  only  yesterday  of  a 
dinner  at  7  Carlton  Gardens  2  :  I  always  fancy  Gold- 
win  Smith  must  be  a  very  angular  cornery  man : 
but  perhaps  I  am  wrong.  The  Grenfells  3  are  by 
no  means  at  Nice,  but  on  the  contrary  here.  Mr. 
Grenfell's  brother  is  in  a  hopeless  state  of  illness — 
so  that  in  one  respect  their  visit  is  a  sad  one :  and 
in  others  they  evidently  enjoy  it  greatly.  Mrs. 
Henry  Grenfell  is  To  *a7  fyl*  a  sort  of  A  No.  1  woman 
multiplied  by  10  or  20,  by  which  I  mean  she  seems 
to  be  a  woman  combining  good  sense  and  good 
taste  with  a  perfectly  feminine  nature  and  manner : 

1  u  Do  you  know  why  there  are  no  letters  ?  It  is  because  it  is 
too  cold  in  England  to  hold  a  pen  in  one's  hand."  u  That  is 
indeed  terrible,  Sir  !  " .  .  .  "  See,  Sir,  the  cold  is  beginning  to  go  ! 
Goodness  !     how  cold  it  must  have  been  out  there  !  n 

2  Lady  Waldegrave's  town  house,  and  Goldwin  Smith  was 
probably  at  this  dinner  as  he  was  a  friend  of  Fortescue's,  a 
contemporary  of  his  at  Oxford. 

3  Henry  Riversdale  Grenfell,  a  Governor  of  the  Bank  of 
England^  was  one  of  Fortescue's  greatest  friends.  Mrs.  Gren- 
fell was  a  Miss  Adeane. 

*  In  my  opinion. 

97  G 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

one  might  have  added  good  education  and  more 
goods.  She  is  also  though  not  handsome,  quite 
nice  looking  and  perfectly  ladylike :  and  by  what  I 
hear  from  others,  has  acted  as  a  regular  mother  to 
her  younger  sisters.  Altogether  it  is  plain  to  me 
that  Henry  G.  has  secured  a  prize,  and  this  I  am 
glad  of  thoroughly,  as  I  have  always  liked  him  so 
much.  He  and  I  are  going  somewhere  or  other 
next  Sunday,  and  after  that  I  suppose  they  will 
"draw  to  the  cold  and  bitter  north,"  which  I  shall 
be  sorry  for.  .  .  . 

To  look  over  your  letter  ...  a  more  interesting 
period  for  politicians  can  hardly  be  than  this,  and  if 
Dizzy  should  become  Premier,  I  fancy  that  the 
Liberal — our  side — will  gain  in  the  end :  for  it  is 
impossible  now  that  he  can  ever  do  any  real  Tory- 
ism :  quite  the  contrary.1  Grenfell  tells  me  that  some 
friends  of  his  write  that  another  said: — "What! 
Disraeli,  a  Jew — Premier  ?  " — and  that  the  respondent 
aptly  answered :  "  Well,  wasn't  St.  Paul  a  Jew 
before  he  was  a  Xtian?''  For  my  own  part  if 
Judaizing  all  England  would  do  us  any  good — why 
not  ?  I  am  glad  of  what  you  say  of  Colenso  :  I  didn't 
know  his  cause  was  so  prospering.  You  should  hear 
Lady  Duff  Gordon  (junior)  speak  of  Bishop  Gray. 

I  think  I  have  answered  most  topicks  and  tooth- 
picks of  your  letter,  and  shall  now  go  on  in  a  mean- 
dering mashpotato  manner,  male  and  female  after  his 
kind,  like  an  obese  gander  as  I  am.  .  .  .  The  con- 
ventional swell  Sunday  here  is  awful!  The  last 
sermon  on  "  the  Lord  God  made  them  coats  of  skins 

1  Disraeli  was  appointed  Lord  Derby's  successor  in  February, 
1868. 

98 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

of  beasts  " — anyhow  made  it  necessary  to  use  one's 
reason.  I  wish  Lord  Lansdowne's  speech  about  "too 
much  church  and  too  many  priests  and  too  little 
humanity  "  was  printed  widely  :  here  as  Hy.  G.  says 
— "the  hills  are  covered  with  parsons," — and  women 
and  fine  ladies  walk  miles  to  morning  sacraments  and 
daily  prayers :  but  their  dress  and  the  narrowness  of 
their  mental  perceptions  is  what  most  strikes  thinking 
men  who  see  much  of  them.  If  a  tenth  part  of  what 
the  Saturday  Reviewers  write  about  women  is  true  > — 
a  "  national  calamity "  is  on  the  increase  :  and  the 
priesthood  as  a  class  are  responsible  for  removing  half 
of  their  hearers  out  of  the  pale  of  reason  into  that  of 
vanity,  bigotry  and  living  death.  So,  my  dear  boy, 
you  see,  I  go,  by  way  of  not  being  completely  uncon- 
ventional, to  church  often,  bitter  as  the  hideous  talk  is : 
on  the  other  hand  I  think — is  one  sex  doomed  to  be 
the  prey  of  the  priests  and  to  deteriorate  accordingly  ? 
will  nobody  help  these  long-trained  chignon-befooled 
lambs? — and — q.e.d. — therefore  I  go  out  for  all 
the  Sunday  at  times — not  being  able  to  bear  respect- 
able foolery  and  superstitious  iniquity  more  than  in  a 
certain  quantity  at  once. 

You  ax  about  my  plans :  they  are  still  at  a  scroo- 
bious  dubious  doubtfulness.  If  the  Duchess  of 
Buccleuch,  Lord  Dalhousie,  or  Mr.  Jackson  the 
millionaire  come  to  sweep  off  ^300  of  my  drawings, 
I  should  go  off  to  finish  my  Palestine,  because  that 
kind  of  life  is  more  difficult  as  one  has  to  look  at 
it  and  undertake   it  fifty  sixcally  or  fifty  sevenically. 

1  Three  articles  on  Women  in  three  successive  Saturday 
Reviews,  "  Mistress  and  Maid,"  "  Esthetic  Women,"  and  "  The 
Theology  of  the  Teapot." 

99 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

But  if  they — the  above-named  potentates — don't  come 
and  buy,  I  must  sneak  back  to  England  in  May  or 
June,  perhaps  only  running  over  to  Corsica  for  a 
Cornhill  paper  or  separately  illustrated  bit  of  journal, 
which  I  am  much  inclined  to  set  my  wits  to — as — 
Athos — or  a  portion  of  Nile — to  Philistine  country, 
etc.,  etc. — thus  gradually  oozing  out  all  my  intel- 
lectual topographic  bowels  as  a  silkworm  doth  its 
caterpillary  silk.  .  .  . 

(Abruptious  interpolation).  Will  you  tell  me  if  you 
know  much  or  any  of  M.  Prosper  Merimee's  writings  ?  * 
He  lives  here  in  winter  and  came  to  my  rooms  two 


weeks  ago.  He  speaks  English  well,  which  is  a 
comfort  to  me  who  hate  speaking  French.  The 
rooms  I  have  taken  (and  I  am  glad  you  and  my 
Lady  think  I  have  done  well  in  so  doing)  are  on 
the  third  floor  of  a  new  house,  looking  directly  to 
the  harbour  and  Esterels  —  a  line  of  hills,  the  termina- 
tion of  which  is  absolutely  Grecian,  as  to  decision  of 
form  and   beauty — and  this  is  much  for  me  to  say. 

1  His  more  important  works  embrace  novels  and  short 
stories,  archaeological  and  historical  dissertations,  and  travels. 
"Colomba"  (a  story  of  Corsican  vendetta)  was  his  best  known 
work.  At  the  time  Lear  writes,  his  life  was  clouded  by  ill- 
health  and  melancholy.     He  died  at  Cannes  in  1870. 

loo 


England,  Nice,  Malta,  Egypt,  Cannes 

A  is  the  sea.  B  the  beautiful  end  of  the  hills.  C 
the  promontory  of  Teoule.  D  the  pier  of  Cannes. 
E  the  town.     F  the  arbour. 

By  all  the  Devils  in  or  out  of  Hell !  four  hundred 
and  seventy-three  cats  at  least  are  all  at  once  making 
a  ninfernal  row  in  the  garden  close  to  my  window. 
Therefore,  being  mentally  decompoged,  I  shall  write 
no  more.  Adding  only  a  portrait  of  myself  going 
on  stilts  (which  mode  of  progress,  as  practised  here, 
I  mean  to  learn)  and  another  drawing  illustrative 
of  what  really  occurred  here  some  weeks  ago.  All 
these  beastly  rooms  where  I  am  open  to 
an  open  court  on  the  street,  and  my 
servant  said :  "  Better  you  lock  the  doors, 
master,  all  the  people  come  in."  But  I 
didn't  mind  what  he  said.  And  lo ! 
when  sponging  myself  in  my  tub — bounce ! 
the  door  opened  and  one  of  the  old 
market  women  with  fowls  and  eggs 
rushed  in.  In  dismay  at  my  Garden  of 
Eden  state,  she  shrieked,  let  the  fowls 
and  eggs  fall  and  ran  off,  and  I  until  help 


IOI 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

came,  was  all  open  to  the  passing  world.  Please 
give  my  kindest  regards  to  my  lady.  I  will  write 
to  her  in  a  morning  when  I  can  write  more  tolerably 
than,  as  I  do  now,  at  night.  Remember  me  to 
Lord  and  Lady  Clermont :  I  hope  he  is  better. 


102 


CHAPTER   II 
May,   1868,   to  January,   1870 

CORSICA,    ENGLAND,    AND   CANNES 

To  Lady  Waldegrave. 

WlLLER  MONTARET. 

6.      ROO   SCENTONNORAY. 

Kan,    Alpes  Maritimes. 

Feby.  28.  1868. 
France. 


Ajaccio,  Corsica, 

May  6.  1868. 

I  HAVE  left  the  above  absurd  address  on  this 
paper,  to  show  you  that  I  had  an  intention,  never 
carried  out,  of  writing  to  you  before  I  left  Cannes, 
which  I  did  at  the  first  week  in  April.  .  .  . 

During  the  time  I  have  been  here  I  have  seen 
the  south  part  of  the  island  pretty  thoroughly :  the 
inland  mountain  scenery  is  of  the  most  magnificent 
character,  but  the  coast  or  edges  are  not  remarkable. 
The  great  pine  forest  of  Bavella  is  I  think  one  of 
the  most  wonderfully  beautiful  sights  nature  can 
produce.  The  extraordinary  covering  of  verdure  on 
all  but  the  tops  of  granite  mountains  make  Corsica 
delightful :   such  Ilex  trees  and  Chestnuts  are  rarely 

103 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

seen,  and  where  they  are  not,  a  blaze  of  colour  from 
wild  flowers  charms  the  foolish  traveller  into  fits. 
The  people  are  unlike  what  I  expected,  having  read 
of  "  revenge,"  etc ;  they  have  the  intelligence  of 
Italians  but  not  their  vivacity :  shrewd  as  Scotch, 
but  slow  and  lazy  and  quiet  generally.  It  must  be 
added  that  a  more  thoroughly  kindly  and  obliging 
set  of  people,  so  far  as  I  have  gone,  cannot  easily 
be  found.  .  .  . 

I  should  tell  you  the  people  nearly  all  dress  in 
black,  which  makes  a  glumy  appierance :  the  food 
is  good  generally,  but  partickly  trout  and  lobsters  : 
and  the  wine  is  delightful,  and  some  well  known 
Landscape  Painters  drink  no  end  of  it.  .  .  . 

The  last  day  of  twenty  on  my  return  here,  a  vile 
little  disgusting  driver  of  the  carriage  I  had  hired, 
took  a  fit  of  cursing  as  he  was  wont  to  do  at  times, 
and  of  beating  his  poor  horses  on  the  head.  In  this 
instance  as  they  backed  towards  the  precipice  and 
the  coachman  continued  to  beat,  the  result  was 
hideous  to  see,  for  carriage  and  horses  and  driver 
all  went  over  into  the  ravine — a  ghastly  sight  I 
can't  get  rid  of.  The  carriage  was  broken  to  bits ; 
one  horse  killed ;  the  little  beast  of  a  driver  not  so 
badly  hurt  as  he  ought  to  have  been.  It  took  a 
day  to  fish  up  the  ruins,  and  this  .  .  .  has  rather 
disgusted  me  with  Corsican  carriage  drives  and  drivers. 

Lear  to  Fortescue. 

15,  Stratford  Place.    Oxford  St. 

22  August.  1868. 

Concerning  the  parchments  or  papers,  you  did  not 
leave  anywhere,  as  far  as  I  can  perceive.  ...  I  hope 

104 


Corsica,   England,  and  Cannes 

the  papers  were  not  important :  perhaps  an  agreement 
signed  by  you  and  W.E.G.  (compared  to  whom,  a 
speaker  at  the  Crystal  Palace  Protestant  meeting 
says  :  Judas  Iscariot  was  a  gentleman)  to  deliver 
over  Ireland  bodily  to  the  Pope  of  Rome  on  the 
Liberal  party  coming  in.   .  .  . 

There  is  a  possibility  of  my  having  to  go  into 
Devonshire  to  see  a  very  old  companion,  who  writes 
"  there  seems  now  little  else  for  me  to  do  but  to  die." 
If  I  do  this — i.e. — not  die,  but  go  to  Torquay,  I  shall 
pass  Bath  and  possibly  might  get  a  peep  at  you. 
Shall  I  knot  rejoice  when  this  place  is  off  my  hands  ? 
Many  of  my  books  I  shall  send  off  to  Cannes,  but 
at  present,  as  you  may  suppose,  I  am  very  dimbe- 
misted-cloudybesquashed  as  to  plans.  Nevertheless, 
they  go  on  slowly  forming  like  the  walls  of  Troy  or 
some  place  as  riz  to  slow  music. 

Every  marriage  of  people  I  care  about  rather  seems 
to  leave  one  on  the  bleak  shore  alone — naturally.  You 
however — since  you  were  "  made  a  Bishop,"  as  the 
Blueposts  waiter  said — have  made  no  difference,  ex- 
cepting in  so  far  as  the  inevitable  staccamento  * 
occasioned  by  the  exigencies  of  active  and  private 
life  compel  you. 

Lear  to  Fortescue. 

io.  Duchess  Street.    Portland  Place. 

Aug.  16.  1869. 

I    was  surprised   to  find   your   card,   and   wonder 

how  you  get  time  even  to  think  of  calling.     Never 

bother  yourself    to   do    so,  aimable  as   is   the   fact, 

x  Severing. 
105 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

for,  happily,  I  can  "put  myself  in  other  peoples' 
places  "  very  thoroughly,  and  I  know  how  impossible 
it  is  to  do  as  one  did  when  one's  occupations  and 
thoughts  were  otherwise  than  as  years  go  on  they 
needs  must  be.  My  life  here  is  truely  odious- 
shocking  :  of  my  twenty-eight  days  in  England,  the 
first  seven  went  in  bustle,  looking  for  a  lodging, 
and  roughing  out  a  plan  for  publication.1  Of  the 
next  twenty-one — twelve  have  gone  in  neccessary 
visits,  to  you  and  Lady  W.,  my  sister,  Poor 
W.  Nevill,  the  Hollands,  and  Mrs.  Hunt.  The 
remaining    time    has   gone   utterly   in   hard   writing, 


*^& 


often  over  one  hundred  notes  in  the  day,  besides 
arranging  the  subscription  list  at  post  time,  and 
also  getting  to  see  various  old  obscure  remote 
friends  in  suburbs  etc.  So  that  rest  is  there  none. 
When  shall  we  fold  our  wings,  and  list  to  what 
the  inner  spirit  says — there  is  no  joy  but  calm? 
Never  in  this  world  I  fear — for  I  shall  never  get 
a  large  northlight  studio  to  paint  in.  Perhaps  in 
the  next  eggzi  stens  you  and  I  and  My  lady  may 
be  able  to  sit  for  placid  hours  under  a  lotus  tree  a 
eating  of  ice  creams  and  pelican  pie,  with  our  feet 

1  Of  his  Corsican  Journal. 
1 06 


Corsica,  England,  and  Cannes 

in  a  hazure  coloured  stream  and  with  the  birds 
and  beasts  of  Paradise  a  sporting  around  us. 

I  can't  help  laughing  at  my'position'at  fifty-seven  ! 
And  considering  how  the  Corfu,  Florence,  Petra, 
etc,  etc,  etc,  are  seen  by  thousands,  and  not  one 
commission  coming  from  that  fact,  how  plainly 
is  it  visible  that  the  wise  public  only  give  commis- 
sions for  pictures  through  the  Press  that  tell  the 
sheep  to  leap  where  others  leap!  .  .  . 

And  are  you  to  be  made  a  pier?  as  the  papers 
say  you  are. 

And  hoping  that  such  fact  may  come  to  pass, 
Forgive  the  maunderings  of  a  d — d  old  Ass. 

To  Lady  Waldegrave. 

Ashtead  Park.    Epsom. 

August  19.     1869. 

I  have  no  whole  sheet  of  paper  to  answer  your 
note,  which  came  to  me  yesterday  before  I  left 
10  Duchess  St,  but  as  there  is  a  peaceful  half-hour 
just  now  available  I  shall  not  put  off  writing  to 
you,  but  rather  use  this  piece  in  peacefulness  as  a 
pis-aller.  I  came  here  for  two  nights  and  return 
to  misery  to-morrow:  ever  since  1834  I  have  always 
been  used  to  come  to  Mrs.  Greville  Howard's,1  who 
all  that  time  has  been  a  very  unvarying  good  friend : 
she  is   now  more   than  eighty-four  but  is  as  bright 

1  Mrs.  Greville  Howard  was  Mary  Howard  of  Castle  Rising 
in  Norfolk  and  Ashtead  in  Surrey.  She  was  the  great  grand- 
daughter of  the  nth  Earl  of  Suffolk.  Her  mother  married 
Richard  Bagot,  who  took  the  name  of  Howard.  She  herself 
married,  in  1807,  Col.  the  Hon.  Fulke  Greville  Upton  who 
assumed  the  name  of  Howard. 

107 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

and  amiable  as  ever,  and  surrounded  by  people  of 
her  own  family,  Howards,  Bagots  and  Chesters, 
Herveys,  Lanes  and  Legges.  Far  less  a  Tory 
by  nature  than  by  education,  (just  as  dear  old  Mrs. 
Ruxton Y  was  a  Calvinist  by  education  and  not 
naturally,")  she  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  the 
Grand  English  Lady  of  the  olden  time  I  have 
known.  Meanwhile  the  park  is  much  as  it  used 
to  be  thirty  years  ago,  so  that  I  shall  go  and  walk 
among  the  deer  as  I  did  then ;  and  so  my  one 
day  of  idleness  will  go  by  without  much  growling 
on  my  part.  Nor  does  looking  at  places  I  knew  so 
well,  and  shall  shortly  cease  to  see,  bring  much 
regret :  as  I  grow  older,  I  as  it  were  prohibit  regrets 
of  all  sorts,  for  they  only  do  harm  to  the  present  and 
thereby  to  the  future.  By  degrees  one  is  coming 
to  look  on  the  whole  of  life  past  as  a  dream,  and 
one  of  no  very  great  importance  either  if  one  is 
not  in  a  position  to  affect  the  lives  of  others 
particularly.  After  which  maundering,  I  will  stop, 
or  perhaps  you  may  double  up  this  paper  and 
throw  it  away  to  the  destructive  Billy.2  Thank 
you  very  much  for  your  invitation,  which  I  should 
enjoy  accepting,  but  I  do  not  perceive  the  smallest 
possibility  of  so  doing.  This  Corsica  3  must  be 
published,  and  to  do  that  various  tortures  must  be 
endured :  .  .  . 

You  and   CFPQ   will  be  glad  to  hear  that  three 
hundred  and  fifty-two  copies  of  my  beastly  bothering 

1  Fortescue's    old    Aunt     who     brought     him     up.      See 
vol.  i.  p.  52. 

2  Lady  Waldegrave's  bull-terrier. 

3  "  Journal  in  Corsica." 

108 


Corsica,  England,  and  Cannes 

book  are  subscribed  for  (though  the  Goal  of  a 
thousand  is  as  yet  a  long  way  off,)  and  doubtless 
when  I  get  back  to  Duchess  St.  to-morrow  there 
will  be  a  good  many  more.  10  Duchess  St.  has 
the  merit  of  facing  the  North  and  of  being  pretty 
light,  and  also  this,  that  it  is  very  tolerably  quiet : 
having  said  which  nothing  more  is  to  be  said.  If 
I  were  Dante  and  writing  a  new  Inferno,  I  would 
make  whole  vistas  of  London  lodgings  part  of  my 
series  of  Hell  punishments.  The  Count  de  Paris I 
wrote  me  such  a  pretty  note  in  subscribing  to  my 
work  :  that  young  man  must  have  naturally  "  good 
conditions "  as  Bunyan  says,  for  whatever  he  does 
is  so  nicely  and  gracefully  cut  out.  Various  other 
people  too  have  written  very  nicely,  which  consoles 
me  for  much  disgust.  My  love  to  the  Mimber, 
whose  likeness  I  bought  yesterday  in  "  Vanity 
Fair."  ^  .  .  . 

You  and  CF  will,  if  the  papers  are  well-informed, 
go  and  live  in  Ireland  as  Vice  Kg  and  Q.  and  I 
shall  probably  go  to  Darjeeling  or  Para  where  for 
the  few  remaining  years  of  life  I  shall  silently  sub- 
sist on  Parrot  Pudding  and  Lizard  lozenges  in 
chubby  contentment. 

1  Grandson  of  Louis  Phillippe.  The  Orlean's  Princes  lived 
in  different  mansions  at  and  round  Twickenham  and  Richmond, 
and  were  great  friends  of  Lady  Waldegrave  and  Fortescue. 
Lear  had  met  the  Comte  de  Paris  at  Strawberry  Hill. 

2  Cartoon  by  "  Ape"  (Pelegrini),  August  14,  1869. 


109 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

To  Forte scue. 

Maison  Guichard.    Cannes. 

J  any.  I.  1870. 

Jan.  2d.  8.  A.M.  Here  goes  for  a  scribble  which 
you  or  My  Lady  can  divide  or  put  by  or  extinguish 
as  the  case  may  be.  If  ever  there  was  a  propitious 
day  for  letterwriting  it  is  this,  for  it  is  frightfully 
cold  and  black  and  rains  hard,  so,  all  the  more 
that  my  throat  is  somewhat  better  for  keeping 
indoors,  I  shall  not  move  out  all  day.  Would  that 
I  knew  anything  about  the  Book — i.e. — Corsica.  I 
can't  hear  of  anyone  getting  it,  and  don't  know 
what  Bush *  is  about.  Two  copies  have  reached 
me  by  Book  Post,  one  I  got  from  M.  Merimee, 
who  seems  greatly  pleased  with  it.  I  am  glad  to 
know  you  are  hopeful  about  Irish  affairs :  certainly 
they  are  very  sad,  but  I  cannot  see  why  some  are 
so  unjust  as  to  place  all  the  onus  of  the  evil  on  a 
Liberal  Government,  as  if  Ireland  had  always  been 
cheerful  and  comfortable  cum  Toryism.  I  was  sure 
My  Lady  would  feel  the  Duchess  D'A[umale]s 
death  as  you  say  she  does 2 :  and  one  is  sorry  for 
the  poor  Duke.  .  .  . 

My  health  altogether  is  not  very  nice  just  now, 
but  then  I  am  58  next  May,  and  never  thought 
I  should  live  so  long.  My  floor,  or  flat  here  is 
very  unsatisfactory  in  some  points  i.e.  being  in  a 
house  with  three  other  floors  full  of  people,  noises 
abound :    2nd  I  have  no    good  painting  room  :     3rd 

1  Lear's  publisher. 

2  She  was  a  devoted  friend  of  Lady  Waldegrave's,  and  lived 
at  Orleans  House,  Twickenham. 

no 


Corsica,  England,  and  Cannes 

my  bedroom  is  cold  :  4th  the  chimneys  smoke.  .  .  . 
Could  I  get  any  suitable  house  here  for  ^3000  it 
appears  to  me  that  such  a  step  would  be  a  wise 
one,  for  as  that  sum,  all  I  have,  produces  only  ^90 
a  year,  I  should  gain  by  the  move,  ...  As  for 
distance  from  "  patronage  " — that  seems  a  matter 
of  indifference — for  only  ^12  was  expended  on 
this   child   by  strangers   last   year,  and    I  forsee   no 

greater    luck    this    year,    (The    Princess    and 

came,    but    of    course    thought    the    honour 

sufficient,  nor  indeed  did  I  expect  them  to  give 
commissions.)  When  such  wealthy  people  as  Lord 
Dalhousie  and  others  set  their  faces  against  art,  all 
the  sheep  foolies  go  with  them ;  and  thus  I  repeat, 
it  don't  seem  to  matter  much  whether  one  is  near 
or  far  from  visitors.  Certainly  the  non-possession 
of  taste,  or  the  fashion  of  taste  is  very  distinctly 
shown  in  such  places  as  Cannes,  Brighton,  etc., 
versus  Rome,  where,  as  it  is  the  fashion  to  buy 
art,   everybody  buys  it.  .  .  . 

How  do  you  like  the  last  Idylls  ?  l  .  .   . 

I  doubt,  under  any  circumstances,  my  coming  to 
England  next  summer :  life  has  been  of  late  simply 
disgusting  to  me  there,  and  I  have  seen  only 
glimpses  of  those  I  most  care  for.  After  all,  it  is 
perhaps  the  best  plan  to  run  about  continually  like 
an  Ant,  and  die  simultaneous  some  day  or  other. 

Meanwhile  in  some  matters  I  am  really  perfectly 
well  off;  qud  food  and  service,  for  instance,  Giorgio 
Kokali  though  not  getting  younger,  is  as  good 
and  attentive  as  ever,  and  like  a  clock  for  regularity. 

x  The  first  four  Idylls  appeared  in  1859,  the  others  in  1870- 
1872  and  1885. 

Ill 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

His  three  sons,  by  way  of  presents,  have  sent  me 
three  most  beautiful  sponges,  worth  £2  apiece  in 
Piccadilly.  I  wish  I  could  give  you  and  My  Lady 
a  Pilaf  and  soup  for  luncheon,  for  I  can  and  do  ask 
ladies  sometimes,  and  we  manage  things  very 
neatly.  My  sister  Newsom  at  Leatherhead  is  well 
for  her  age — going  on  seventy-one.  Sarah,  in 
Dunedin,  at  seventy-six,  thrives  as  usual,  and  rows 
her  two  great-grandchildren  about  in  a  boat! 
Sometimes  I  think  I  will  go  out  there,  but  on  the 
whole  they  are  too  fussy  and  noisy  and  religious  in 
those  colonial  places. 

I  shall  leave  off  now,  for  which  you  may  be 
''truly  thankful."  And  I  shall  look  out  and  heap 
together  all  the  nonsense  I  can  for  my  new  book 
which  is  to  be  entitled — 

Learical  Lyrics 

and  Puffles  of  Prose, 

&c,  &c. 

Pray  write  to  me  and  say  how  you  and  My  Lady 
like  the  books :  if  they  are  not  come  write  ferociously 
to  Bush,  whose  name  at  present  makes  me  foam. 
The  beastly  aristocratic  idiots  who  come  here,  and 
think  they  are  doing  me  a  service  by  taking  up  my 
time!  one  day  one  of  them  condescendingly  said 
"you  may  sit  down — we  do  not  wish  you  to  stand." 
Shall  I  build  a  house  or  not  ?  There  is  a  queer 
little  orange  garden  for  ^"iooo,  if  only  one  could 
ensure  that  no  building  could  be  placed  opposite. 
Why  do  topographical  artists  and  Chief  Secretaries 
for  Ireland  have  false  teeth?     Because   they  choose. 

112 


Corsica,  England,  and  Cannes 

Give   my  kindest   remembrances    to    My  Lady,  and 
wish  her  and  yourself  many  happy  new  years. 

O  pumpkins  !  0  periwinkles  ! 

O  pobblesquattles  !  how  him  rain ! 


Lear  to  Lady   Waldegrave. 

Maison  Guichard.    Cannes. 

io  Feby.  1870. 

I  hope — for  all  you  say — that  you  will  feel  no 
less  interest  than  ever  in  the  "Party" — or  Liberal 
side :  for  if  there  be  not  union  there  is  nothing, 
and  without  you  there  would  be  a  disgusting 
vacuum  not  to  be  filled  up.  I  can  well  understand 
the  disadvantages  and  disagreeables  of  the  Chief 
Secretaryship,  but  who  could  take  the  place  as 
CF  does?  For  even  granted  another  with  exactly 
the  same  capacity,  few  could  have  the  interior 
combination  of  being  an  Irishman,  and  not  only 
that,  but  one  who  has  lived  among  and  studied  the 
people  and  the  circumstances  of  the  country,  and 
who  has  a  real  interest  in  its  welfare. 

Bye  the  bye  you  will  surely  see  that  he  will  have 
much  more  credit  than  you  forebode  at  present,1 
and  later  I  trust  to  see  him  in  Lord  Granville's 2 
place,  Colonies  or  some  other  post  he  would  like. 
So  in  spite  of  certain  of  Mr.  G's  qualities  I  hope 
you  will  go  on  flourishing  and  more  rejoicefully. 

Poor   Duke    D'Aumale !     Is   it   better,    I  wonder, 

1  In  December,  1870,  Mr.  Fortescue  was  made  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trade. 

2  Lord  Granville  was  at  this  time  Secretary  for  the  Colonies. 

113  H 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

as  $.  says,  "to  have  loved  and  lost,  than  never 
to  have  loved  at  all?"  I  don't  know.  I  think,  as 
I  can't  help  being  alone  it  is  perhaps  best  to  be 
altogether,  jellyfish-fashion  caring  for  nobody. 

The  Baillie  Cochranes  is  come,  which  I'm  pleased 
at.  Drummond  Wolff  is  a  coming.  And  to-day, 
says  somebody,  Lord  Ebury  and  Co.,  are  coming 
to  this  child's  studio. 


114 


CHAPTER  III 
July,   1870,  to  May,  1872 


SAN    REMO 


IT  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  Lear 
had  always  an  extreme  difficulty  in  making 
up  his  mind  about  his  movements.  He  was 
for  ever  drawing  up  elaborate  plans  for  the 
future  which  seldom  saw  completion.  But  as 
he  grew  older  and  less  inclined  for  travel,  the 
necessity  for  having  some  fixed  residence  began 
to  press  insistently.  At  last,  in  the  spring  of 
1870,  he  decided  to  build  a  house,  as  he  found 
it  impossible  to  get  rooms  or  rent  a  villa  in 
any  convenient  situation  on  the  Riviera  coast 
with  a  suitable  studio.  For  this  purpose  he 
proposed  to  draw  upon  part  of  his  small 
invested  capital  of  ,£3,000,  and  he  bought  a 
piece  of  land  near  San  Remo,  and  set  the 
builders  to  work.  The  new  house,  which  was 
not  finally  ready  until  the  March  of  the  follow- 
ing year,  was  christened  Villa  Emily,  after  a 

115 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

New  Zealand  grand-niece.1    It  was  the  painter's 
home  for  many  years. 


To  Lady   Waldegrave. 

Messrs.  Asquasciati 
Italia  |  San  Remo. 

July  6.  1870. 

I  wish  you  and  C.  to  know  that  on  June  22  I  finally 
left  Cannes,  and  the  pigeon  shooting  swell  community 
thereof — for  San  Remo — all  my  things  coming  in  a 
Van — Vanity  of  Vanity — I  may  indeed  say  a  Carry- 
van — by  way  of  Nice  to  San  Remo  where,  as  above, 
is  now  my  future  address.  My  Pantechnicon  things, 
(C.F's  table  and  all 2)  are  to  come  out  by  sea.  I  have 
taken  lodgings,  see  address  above,  for  six  months,  for 
though  I  hope  to  paint  in  my  new  room  in  December 
I  don't  get  in  till  March  to  sleep.  The  house  is 
already  fast  rising,  and  the  roof  is  to  be  on  by  end 
of  July. 

(I  am  writing  this  from  Certosa  del  Pesio,  a  Moun- 
tain Pension  twenty-four  hours  above  S.  Remo,  to 
which  I  can  run  down  when  wanted — a  place  near 
Cuneo,  (Turin)  to  which  I  have  come  for  a  week  or 
two  to  be  out  of  the  great  heat  by  the  sea-shore,  to 
complete  my  child's-nonsense-book  for  Xmas,  and  to 
write  letters,  and  a  fair  copy  of  two  Egyptian  journals, 
1854  and  1867,  for  future  publication.) 

I  now  mean,  at  least  from  October,  to  do  as  I  said 
to  C.F.,  try  all  I  can  for  public  exhibition  and  sale 

1  Emily  Gillies,  granddaughter  of  Sarah  Street. 

2  See  p.  135. 

116 


.  '  .    > 


*  *  ' 


| 


2  ! 


-    ■• 


San  Remo 

thereby.  One  of  two  pictures  I  sent  to  the  R.A.1 
("  And  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  !  ")  was  sold 
at  once,  the  other,  the  £i$o  forest,  with  three  more 
will  go  to  Liverpool,  Birmingham  and  Manchester, 
and  if  not  sold  there  must  be  at  Christie's  bye  and 
bye.  As  I  wrote  to  C,  private  patronage  must  end 
in  the  natural  course  of  things,  but  eating  and  drink- 
ing and  clothing  go  on  disagreeably  continually  ;  yet 
in  striking  out  this  new  path  (the  old  one  was  worn 
out,  for  I  only  got  ^30  from  the  rich  Cannes  public 
this  last  winter)  I  may  well  say  that  no  one  ever  had 
more  or  better  friends  than  I ,  you  My  Lady,  and  the 
steady  qoscue  among  the  first  and  best. 

Poor  John  Simeon  !  2  I  know  C.  has  felt  his  death. 

C.  must  have  had  no  end  of  worry  and  work  about 
that  land  bill, 3  but  I  have  not  seen  papers  for  a  fort- 
night as  I  have  been  a-walking  over  the  Col  di  Tenda, 
which  produced  so  to  speak  a  Tenda-ness  in  my  feet 
and  it  will  be  Tenda  one  if  I  can  get  a  shoe  on  which 
keeps  me  on  Tendahooks. 

For  all  I  write  cheerfully  I  am  as  savage  and  black 
as  90000  bears.  There  is  nobody  in  this  place  (an 
Ex-Carthusian  convent  with  200  rooms,)  whom  I 
know  :  and  they  feed  at  the  beastliest  hours — 10 
and  5. 

If  you   see   Delane,   Pigott,4  or  the  Editor  of  the 

1  See    Appendix,  "  List    of  Lear's    Exhibits    at    the    Royal 
Academy,"  p.  379. 

2  Sir  John  Simeon,  3rd  Bart.,  M.P.,  a  mutual  friend  and  a 
patron  of  Lear's. 

3  The  Irish  Land  Bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Gladstone  in  Feb- 
ruary, received  the  Royal  Assent  in  August. 

♦  Delane,  Editor  of  the  "Times"  ;  Pigott,  Editor  of  the  "Daily 
News." 

117 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Saturday,  my  compliments  and  they  are  brutes  and 
thieves  to  take  my  Corsica  and  write  no  notice  of  it. 
Is  it  yet  too  late  ?  On  the  contrary  the  Daily  Tele- 
graph, Athenceum,  Pall  Mall,  Illustrated  News,  Post, 
etc.,  will  doubtless  be  rewarded  in  heaven,  when  the 
above  three  are  in  torchers. 

My  love  to  the  Mimber.  Please,  when  that  bill 
is  done,  have  a  tendency  to  consumption,  and  come 
out  to  San  Remo  for  the  winter!  My  friend  Con- 
greve,  next  me,  has  a  charming  villa  to  let. 

The  following  letter  is  chiefly  interesting  as 
a  typical  example  of  the  orderly  and  minute 
character  of  Lear's  correspondence : — 

To  Fortescue. 
Certosa  del  Pesio. 

CUNEO. 

Turin.    31s/.  July.  1870. 

1.  Time  of  getting        I  was   delighted  to   get   your 

his  letter.  letter,  date    14th,  which  came  to 

2.  Bfkt  at  S.  Hill,     me    on    Saturday    23rd.     Since 

3.  CF's     and     J.     when  I  having  jotted  down  scraps 

Simeons  paint-  of  memoranda  to  aid  me  in  writ- 
ings of  mine  ing  to  you  when  I  had  a  Nopper- 
also  my  Lady's,  tunity, 

4.  F.   L   and    the  To-day  being  Sunday,  which  I 
Essex  house.  show  my  respect  for  my  wearing 

5.  Lord  Derby  and  a  coat  with  tails  and  by  writing 
request.  letters  instead  of  Egyptian  jour- 

6.  War.  nal,  I  can  seize  the   memoranda 

7.  Ld.  Clermont's  accordingly.     But  as  I  have  been 
letter.  writing  all   day,    I   am    unequal 

118 


San  Remo 


8.  George  Kokali. 

9.  Lord  Granville. 

10.  I.  Secretary- 
ship. 

11.  Ireland. 

12.  Valaorites. 

13.  Egyptian  Jour- 
nal. 

14.  Child's  Book. 

15.  Certosa  life. 

16.  Scenery. 

17.  Topographic 
life. 

18.  Pictures. 

19.  Piedmontese. 

20.  Counts  and 

Markisses. 

21.  Visit  to  Turin. 

22.  Things        sent 

for. 

23.  Flies. 

24.  Lord  Henley. 

25.  C.  Simeon. 

26.  C.  Roundell. 

27.  Heart  disease. 

28.  Sisters. 

29.  Congreves. 

30.  Milady. 


to  the  task  of  "  composition," 
and  I  shall  accordingly  put  down 
all  the  notes,  and  comment  upon 
them  just  as  they  come,  without 
any  order  at  all.     Here  goes  : 

(1)  Your  letter  came  about 
noon,  just  as  (2)  you  must  have 
been  *  holding '  the  breakfast  at 
Strawberry  l  :  I  should  like  to 
have  been  there. 

(3)  Poor  John  Simeon  !  All 
you  say  of  him  is  true.  I  wrote 
to  Lady  S.  to-day.  He  and  you 
have  been  two  of  my  friends  who 
have  done  me  always  justice  as 
to  my  working  conscientiously, 
and  who  have  always  appreciated 
my  work.  I  should  like  by 
degrees  to  get  a  set  of  photo- 
graphs of  all  my  pictures.  My 
Lady  is  another  who  has  been 
just  the  same  to  me  :  I  was 
reckoning  only  a  few  days  ago 
that  she  has  as  many  as  eight 
of  my  works  :  you  three  or  four 
also. 

(4)  My  friend  Lushington2 
has  very  kindly  got  me  a  com- 


1  The  breakfast  club  to  which  Carlingford  belonged. 

2  Franklin  Lushington,  at  this  time  magistrate  at  the  Thames 
Police  Court,  was  one  of  the  two  Justices  in  Corfu  when  Lear 
first  went  to  live  there.  He  was  one  of  the  painter's  most 
intimate  friends,  and  an  executor  after  his  death. 

119 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

31.  Lord    Derby,       plete  certificate  of  London  resi- 

marriage  and  dence   countersigned   by    Italian 

letter.  Consul,  a  necessary  form  for  get- 

32.  Corsica.  ting   furniture    duty    free.      He, 

33.  Reviews.  F.    Lushington,    being    now    P. 

34.  Lord  E.  B.  Magistrate  in  the  East  of  London, 

35.  Holman  Hunt,  has  taken  a  house  in  the  East 

county  of  Essex. 

(5)  You  will  think  this  next  an  odd  bit,  but  I  had 
an  uncontrollable  desire  to  paint  one  more  picture  for 
Knowsley,  so  I  wrote  to  Lord  Derby  that  I  wished 
to  do  so  if  he  would  let  me — knowing  how  fond  of  my 
works  he  has  always  been,  and  that  from  a  child  he 
knew  me.  But  directly  after  I  wrote  the  letter  I  got 
some  papers  where  in  the  very  first  I  saw  his 
Marriage  I I  and  in  the  next  the  announcement  that  it 
was  to  take  place.  So  I  set  down  the  letter  which 
must  have  arrived  on  the  day  after  his  marriage,  as 
gone  to  limbo. 

(6)  The  War  is  a  bore.2  But  if  F.  wants  to  devour 
others,  I  can't  but  recollect  that  P.  did  devour  some  of 
Denmark  and  other  places  :  so  I  don't  see  that  one 
is  worse  than  t'other.  (7)  I  have  half  written  a  letter 
to  Lord  Clermont,  as  I  have  done  to  everyone  who 
has  pictures  of  mine,  about  some  photographs  :  not 
knowing  where  he  may  be  I  addressed  the  letter  to 
Carlton  Gardens,  please  let  it  be  forwarded.  (8)  My 
good  servant  Giorgio  who  hurt  his  foot  badly  on  the 
Col  di  Tenda,  and  had  to  stay  here  some  time,  has 
gone  back  to  Corfu.     I   heard  from  him  yesterday — 

1  Lord  Derby  married  Mary  Catherine,  daughter  of  the  5th 
Earl  De  La  Warr,  and  widow  of  the  2nd  Marquess  of  Salisbury. 

2  Franco- Prussian. 

120 


San  Remo 

all  safe.  But  I  miss  him  here  considerably,  having  to 
do  many  things  for  myself  I  now  can't  well  manage. 
He  returns  to  me  in  October  early. 

(9,  10,  11)  I  had  not  known  of  Lord  Cn's  *  death 
when  I  last  wrote,  but  next  day  or  so  I  did,  and 
wondered  who  would  fill  Lord  G's  place,2  who  I 
grasped  would  succeed  him.  But  I  cannot  wonder  at 
your  not  being  moved  at  present  from  the  Irish  Secre- 
taryship, for  who  on  earth  could  replace  you  ?  I  do 
not  see  how  you  can  be  staccato  from  Irish  affairs  for 
some  time,  and  the  next  step  would  naturally  I  fancy 
be  Lord  Lieutenant,  because  it  would  with  a  Peerage 
be  the  just  reward  of  so  much  work,  and  to  one  who 
is  so  identified  with  the  island.  You  could  have  done 
the  colonies  well  I  believe — (G.B.  will  I  think  be 
radiant  at  Lord  K.3  being  there  instead  of  you,)  but 
the  nonpossibility  of  filling  up  the  Irish  office  at  this 
time  could  not  I  think  be  got  over.  So  you  see  / 
don't  look  on  the  matter  as  a  slight,  but  quite  the 
particular  contrairy  reverse.  Why  was  old  Lord  H.4 
put  in  again  ?  I  suppose  some  one  must  have  been 
and  there  wasn't  much  choice. 

(12)  I  see  Valaorites  is  Capo  in  Greece.  I  do  hope 
the  Greek  affair  won't  be  dropped.  Valaorites  was 
always  thought  a  good  man  by  people  one  thought 
good  and  worthy  of  credit.  (13)  My  only  employ 
here  is  writing  :  and  I  have  already  written  out  the 

1  Lord  Clarendon  died  June  27,  1870. 

2  Lord  Granville  succeeded  Lord  Clarendon  as  Foreign 
Secretary. 

3  Lord  Kimberley  succeeded  Lord  Granville  as  Colonial 
Secretary. 

*  Lord  Halifax. 

121 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

first  part — (1854)  of  my  Egyptian  journals  :  I  believe 
you  would  like  them,  as  they  are  photographically 
minute  and  truthful.  But  it  will  be  long  before  I 
publish  them.  (14)  I  have  also  finished  (up  here)  my 
new  Xmas  book.1  9  songs — no  " old  persons  "  and 
other  rubbish  and  fun.  All  have  gone  to  England  to 
be  lithographed. 

(15)  I  live  the  queerest  solitary  life  here,  in  com- 
pany of  seventy  people.  They  are,  many  of  them, 
very  nice  but  their  hours  don't  suit  me,  and  I  hate 
life  unless  I  work  always.  I  rise  at  5,  coffee  at  6, 
write  till  10.  Breakfast  at  Table  d'hote.  Walk  till 
11.30,  write  till  6,  walk  till  8,  dine  alone,  and  bed  at 
10  or  9.30.  (16)  The  scenery  here  is  of  most  remark- 
ably English  character  as  to  greenness,  but  of  course 
the  Halps  is  bigger ;  I  never  saw  such  magnificent 
trees,  such  immense  slopes  of  meadows,  and  such  big 
hills  combined  together ;  the  Certosa  Monastery  itself 
is  a  beast  to  look  at.  (17)  I  should  certainly  like,  as 
I  grow  old,  (if  I  do  at  all)  to  work  out  and  complete 
my  topographic  life,  publish  all  my  journals  illustrated, 
and  illustrations  of  all  my  pictures  :  for  after  all  if  a 
man  does  anything  all  his  life  and  is  not  a  dawdler, 
what  he  does  must  be  worth  something,  even  if  only 
as  a  lesson  of  perseverance.  I  should  also  like  to  see 
a  little  more  of  other  places  yet,  but  that  must  be  as  it 
may  as  the  little  boy  said  when  they  told  him  he 
mustn't  swallow  the  mustard  pot  and  sugar  tongs.  || 
(18)  I  am  going  to  do  a  big  2e,  Cataract  for  next 
year's  Academy,  and  a  big  something  else  for  the 
International,  if  this  war  don't  spoil  all.|| 

1  u  More  Nonsense,   Pictures,   Rhymes,  Botany,   etc.,"   Pub- 
lished 1872. 

122 


.  *  »  •    •     •• 


<        s 
£         a 


§  i 


San  Remo 

(19,  20)  The  Piedmontese  are  really  charming 
people,  so  simple  and  kindly.  Only  I  wish  they 
weren't  all  counts.  Who  ever  heard  before  of  an 
omnibus  stuffed  quite  full  of  counts,  (8)  and  2  Mar- 
quises ?||  (21)  I  went  to  Turin  on  the  17th  but  can't 
remember  why  I  put  that  down,  as  there  was  nothing 
to  say  about  it.||  (22)  All  my  old  Stratford  Place 
things  are  now  or.  their  way  out  by  sea.||  (23)  There 
are  two  sorts  here,  fireflies  which  are  delightful  and 
splendid — common  flies,  which  are  brutal  and  oath- 
producing.  ||  (24)  So  the  agreeable  Clara  Jekyll  has 
become  Lady  Henley.1  I  met  him  once  at  Strawberry 
Hill.     She  has  written  me  a  very  nice  letter. 

(25)  If  you  see  Cornwall  Simeon,  remember  me 
to  him.  (26)  Do  you  know  Charles  Roundell,2  Sir 
R.  Palmer's  cousin  ?  Secretary  to  Lord  Spencer  ? 
he  is  a  great  friend  of  mine,  and  has  four  of  my 
pictures.  (27)  I  must  tell  you  that  I  have  been  at 
one  time,  extremely  ill  this  summer.  It  is  as  well 
that  you  should  know  that  I  am  told  that  I  have  the 
same  complaint  of  heart  as  my  father  died  of  quite 
suddenly.  I  have  had  advice  about  it,  and  they  say 
I  may  live  any  time  if  I  don't  run  suddenly,  or  go 
quickly  upstairs  :  but  that  if  I  do  I  am  pretty  sure 
to  drop  morto.  I  ran  up  a  little  rocky  bit  near  the 
Tenda,  and  thought  I  shouldn't  run  any  more,  and 
the  palpitations  were  so  bad  that  I  had  to  tell  Giorgio 
all  about  it,  as  I  did  not  think  I  should  have  lived 
that  day  through.  ...  28.  My  Sister  Ellen  at  71  is 

1  Married  Lord  Henley  as  his  second  wife,  June  30,  1870, 
a  daughter  of  J.  H.  S.  Jekyll,  Esq. 

2  Charles  Roundell,  M.A.,  D.L.,  M.P.  for  Grantham  and  the 
Skipton  Division  of  Yorkshire. 

123 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

vastly  well.  The  New  Zealander  at  yy  quite  robust, 
and  talks  of  coming  over  for  a  trip  to  see  me — vid 
Panama!  29.  My  friend  Congreve,1  formerly  a 
master  at  Rugby,  and  for  years  past  settled  at  San 
Remo,  is  in  great  affliction,  as  Mrs.  C.  is  dying. 
His  non  return  to  San  Remo  is  a  most  serious 
thing  for  me — but  I  can't  think  of  my  own  bother, 
as  his  is  so  much  greater.  He  takes  pupils,  and 
has  four  villas  there,  which  I  wish  to  goodness  were 
let  to  friends  of  mine  for  ^"200,  ^120,  ^120  and  £72, 
all  furnished.  30.  Are  you  and  Milady  going  back  to 
Ireland — and  not  to  Chewton  at  all  after  Parliament 
ceases  to  sit?  Give  my  kindest  regards  to  her.  I 
wish  you  would  both  have  the  rheumatism  for  a 
month,  and  come  to  the  Corniche.  Mind  if  ever 
you  do,  you  go  to  Bogges  Hotel  de  Londres — close  to 
MY  PROPERTY,  31.  Behold,  to  my  utter  sur- 
prise, a  letter  has  come  from  Lord  Derby ! — nothing 
more  friendly  and  kindly  could  have  been  written,  and 
with  a  commission  for  ^100  to  paint  a  Corfu  for 
him  !  I  am  extremely  pleased  for  many  reasons.  So 
I  begin  my  San  Remo  life  with  the  same  Knowsley 
patronage  I  began  life  with  at  eighteen  years  of  age. 
I  had  some  strong  and  particular  reasons  for  making 
the  request  I  did,  and  to  no  one  else  could  I  have 
made  it,  or  would  I  have  made  it.||  32.  You  will 
be  glad  to  hear  that  Bush's  accounts  of  the  Corsica 
have  come  in,  and  that,  though  there  are  still  over 
300  copies  on  sale,  I   have  now  no  more  money   to 

1  Afterwards  English  Consul  at  San  Remo.  Father  of  the 
writer  of  the  Preface  to  this  book,  and  brother  of  Richard 
Congreve,  the  comtist,  who  resigned  his  fellowship  at  Wadham 
College,  Oxford,  on  account  of  his  opinions. 

124 


San  Remo 

pay>  but  on  the  contrary  ^130  to  receive  :  this  is  not 
however  profit,  because  my  payments  of  the  woodcuts 
were  not  made  by  Bush,  but  by  myself.  All  truly 
religious  and  right-minded  people  should  buy  the 
Corsica  for  30s.  for  wedding  and  Christmas  gifts.  || 
33.  I  wonder  if  after  the  Parliamentary  business  is 
over,  and  newspapers  slack,  if  the  Times  and  the 
Daily  News  and  Saturday  Reiew  could  yet  put  an 
article  on  my  Corsica  in  their  kollems.|!  34.  If  you 
see  Lord  E B who  has  never  paid  his  sub- 
scription, tell  him  he  is  a  brute.  If  I  had  chosen,  I 
could  have  written  far  otherwise  than  I  did  about  the 
Duffer.1 1|  35.  Holman  Hunt  writes  from  Jerusalem  : 
he  is  getting  more  and  more  religious  :  you  and  I 
should  say — superstitious  :  but  don't  repeat  this. 

There,  that's  enough  and  more  than  enough.  If 
you  can't  read  this,  nor  Milady  either,  cut  it  across 
diagonally  and  read  it  zigzag  by  the  light  of  482 
lucifer  matches. 

Vot  a  letter ! 

Fortes  cue  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 

Oct.  19.  1870. 

Here  goes  for  a  letter  too  long  delayed.  The 
last  time  I  saw  your  writing  or  heard  of  you  was 
three  weeks  ago,  when  we  went  to  London  for  a 
Cabinet,  and  H.  Grenfell  showed  me  a  letter  of  yours, 
inquiring  after  poor  Northbrook.     I  have  not  heard 

1  "  The  Duffer  "  was  the  nickname  by  which  the  3rd  Marquis 
of  Ailesbury's  son  was  generally  known.  He  died  before  his 
father,  and  his  son  succeeded  as  4th  Marquis. 

125 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

of  him  lately,  but  he  wrote  me  soon  after  the  catas- 
trophe I  that  he  was  almost  heartbroken.  What  an 
awful  affair  it  was,  making  itself  felt  by  all,  even  in 
the  midst  of  war,  at  a  time  when  we  have  supped  so 
full  of  horrors. 

I  can  tell  you  nothing  of  the  prospects  of  peace. 
Public  opinion  and  feeling  has  turned  very  much 
against  the  Germans,  on  account  of  their  demand  of 
territory.  You  may  see  a  striking  letter  on  the 
subject  from  Lord  Edmond  Fitzmaurice  in  yester- 
day's Pall  Mall.  As  far  as  "  tu  quoque  "  and  "  serve 
you  right  "argument  goes,  France  has  nothing  to 
say  for  herself,  but  the  transfer  of  human  beings 
from  one  owner  to  another  is  not  to  be  settled  by  such 
arguments.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  visited  the 
Empress  the  other  day — and  found  her  looking  sixty, 
very  low  and  subdued.  The  Republicans  seem  to 
have  little  hold  on  France — so  I  suppose  the  Orleans 
family  will  have  a  turn.  Their  position  is  very 
painful  and  perplexing,  eager  as  they  are  to  take 
part  in  the  perils  and  sufferings  of  their  country,  but 
restrained  by  the  wishes  of  the  existing  Government, 
and  the  fear  of  causing  divisions.2 

An  anecdote  of  Dizzy.  H.G.  met  him  at  dinner 
the  other  day. — He  was  oracular  and  sententious 
about  the  war,  after  the  manner  of  Lothair,3  (who  was 
there  also) — he  said — the  war  was  caused  by  the 
French  possessing  two  new  machines — the  chassepot 

1  Lord  Northbrook's  second  son  Arthur  was  in  the  Navy, 
and  was  lost  at  sea  on  board  H.M.S.  Captain,  1870. 

2  The  Due  de  Chatres  did  fight  under  an  assumed  name, 
Captain  Robert,  and  was,  I  believe,  decorated. 

3  The  Marquis  of  Bute. 

126 


San  Remo 

and  the  mitrailleuse,  in  which  they  trusted,  but  they 
couldn't  find  a  man. 

The  domestic  event  is  the  betrothal  of  the  Princess 
Louise  and  Lord  Lome — popular,  I  think,  with  the 
country,  but  not  with  the  Upper  Ten  Thousand. 

As  to  our  history — we  have  been  here  since  the 
middle  of  September,  we  stay  until  the  ist — (we  hope) 
— go  then  to  London  for  a  few  Cabinets,  and  then  to 
the  Phaynix  for  the  winter,  not  a  delightful  prospect, 
particularly  to  my  Lady. 

Things  look  well  in  Ireland,  so  far,  and  we  may 
hope  for  a  quiet  winter,  unlike  the  last.  I  am  full 
of  Irish  education — but  am  not  sure  yet  whether 
room  will  be  found  for  it  next  Session.  It  is  a  most 
difficult  subject,  beset  with  theories  and  follies  and 
bigotries.  .  .  . 

Fortescue  to  Lear. 

C.  S.  Lodge. 

Dec.  30.  1870. 

...  Be  it  known  to  you — though  not  yet  known 
to  the  world  in  general — that  I  am  almost  certain  to 
bid  farewell  to  this  house  and  this  office  for  ever,  as 
Mr.  Gladstone  has  offered  me  the  Presidentship  of 
the  Board  of  Trade,  and  I  have  accepted  it,  if  it  be 
convenient  to  the  Government.  I  have  had  great 
difficulty  in  making  up  my  mind  about  this,  and  I 
leave  the  Irish  Government  with  very  mixed  feelings, 
one  of  which  is  regret.  However  it  is  promotion, 
though  not  what  I  wished  for.  I  have  done  a  great 
deal  of  work  here — my  best  advisers  advise  me  to 
take  it.     I  leave  this  place  at  a  time  of  great  success, 

127 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

— and  in  short,  I  hope  I  have  done  right.  But  all 
changes  depress  me.  My  successor  here  is  not  yet 
settled.  These  changes  will  be  badly  received  by 
the  Press.  Stansfeld  is  their  candidate  for  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  expects  it  himself.  The  Govern- 
ment is  decidedly  less  strong  than  it  was  a  year  ago. 
And  what  darkness  and  difficulties  surround  the 
future !  This  country  is  wonderfully  improved.  But 
the  Priests  call  upon  the  Government  to  restore  the 
Pope! 

Lear  to  Lady   Waldegrave 

San  Remo.    Italia. 

January  the  twenty  tooth. 
1871. 

Says  the  imm, — "  If  thou  tarry  till  thou'rt  better, 
thou  wilt  never  come  at  all" — and  if  I  wait  till 
I  can  find  a  good  time  for  leisure  and  sperrits  and 
intellect,  I  shall  never  send  any  letter  to  you.  I 
did  begin  one,  before  I  wrote  last  to  C.S.P.F.,  but 
it  was  so  stupid,  and  so  bewildered  by  reason  of 
its  being  by  continued  interruptiums  up-be-cut,  that 
I  tore  it  to  pieces.  And  now  I  commence  another 
sheet — perhaps  to  be  still  more  objectionable: — 
but  anyhow  I'll  go  at  it  Slap-Dash  and  finish  it, 
as  Billy  would  finish  a  bone  by  scrunching  it  alto- 
gether from  beginning  to  end.  I  wonder  if  Billy 
drags  a  hearth  broom  about  as  he  used  to  do.  .  .  . 

The  Villa  Lord  Russell  had  here  last  year  is  let 
to  some  Dutch  people.  (At  once  you  perceive  that 
the  arrangement  of  this  epistle  will  be  wholly  un- 
connected and  inconsequential)  I  wish  the  Earl 
and    Lady  R.  had   returned   here,   tho'   not   to   that 

128 


San  Remo 

side  of  San  Remo.  Lord  Russell  was  right,  and 
borne  out  by  all  facts  connected  with  this  place, 
in  writing  as  he  did  to  the  Times  (or  some  paper) 
about  the  people  here.  A  better  disposed  and  nicer 
lot  of  people  than  the  San  Remesi  have  I  not 
seen.  .  .  .  We  have  few  great  folks  here  this  year. 
The  Archbishop  l  soon  went  away — worried  off  by 
the  ladies  of  his  family.  And  Ld.  Shaftesbury  who 
came  a  week  ago  goes  on  also  to  Mentone.  So 
that  there  is  only  one  footman  to  be  seen,  and  he 
belongs  to  "  Puxley."  Does  C.  know  Puxley,  I 
wonder?  He  is  man  of  Cork,  and  apparently  very 
rich  :  but  never  before  I  saw  him  did  I  know  what 
a  real  bitter  Orange- Lowchurch- Irish-Tory  was.  At 
first  when  he  outragiously  abused  those  I  like,  I 
got  angry,  but  now  I  shout  with  laughter — he  is 
so  grisly  a  fool.  One  of  the  nice  people  here  is 
Ughtred  Shuttleworth,2  Sir  J.  Kay's  son,  and  M.P. 
for  Hastings,  on  our  side.  I  am  sorry  he  is  going : 
albeit  he  takes  three  drawings  from  me  to  England. 
One  is  for  F.  W.  Gibbs3  as  a  present  to  H.R.H. 
P[rincess]  Louise  on  her  marriage, — the  other  two 
for  A.  M.  Drummond.  These  ^12  drawings  are 
helps  I  am  grateful  for.  So  I  was  for  kind  Chi- 
chester's letter  and  offer  of  help :  but  please  tell 
him  that  I  am  still  hoping  to  skriggle  on  without 
borrowing   for   the    present :   for    Sir    F.    Goldsmid  4 

1  Archbishop  Tait  of  Canterbury. 

2  Ughtred  Kay  Shuttleworth,  M.P.  for  Hastings  1869-1880  ; 
Under  Secretary  for  India  1886 ;  Chancellor  of  Duchy  of 
Lancaster  1886;  1st  Baron  Shuttleworth,  of  Gawthorpe  (1902). 

3  Fredrick  W.  Gibbs,  Q.C.,  C.B.,  tutor  to  H.R.H.  the  Prince 
of  Wales  1852-1858. 

4  Sir  Francis  Goldsmid,  Bart.     The  first  Jew  called  to  the 

129  I 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

(thanks  to    H.   G.   Bruce    for    that   friend)  has  just 

bought  one  of  my  Corsican   forests   for   ;£  ioo,  and 

F.   Lushington  has  given  me  a  commission  for  two 

^25    pictures.     So    I    may   tide    over,    if    all    goes 

well.  .   .  . 

A   few  days  ago  a  friend  here  told    me   that  his 

mother   was   obliged    by   her  mother,    to   destroy   a 

large  box  of  letters  written  to  her  brother  or  husband, 

one  ffarington   I   think, — all  those  letters  were  from 

Horace   Walpole.      Did   you   ever   hear   that?     My 

friend  is  one  Mr.  Clay-Keeton  of  Rainhill,  and  his 

grandmother  was   a  ffarington.      Apropos  of  letters, 

C.F.  has,  I  daresay,  heard  me  tell  how  I  have  ever 

regretted    that    in    a    conscientious    fit    I    destroyed 

some  eight  and  ten  years  of  journals,  written  while 

at  Knowsley.     Virtue  is  its  own    reward :    for   now, 

looking  over  my  sisters  l  letters,  I  find  I  copied  out 

all    those    journals    daily   and   sent   them   to   her, — 

which   she,    dying,    left  to   me !     My  descriptions  of 

persons  at  Knowsley  choke  me  with  laughing.     Lord 

Wilton2   for  one,  and  indeed  half  the  great  people 

of    England    who  in    so    many    years    came    there. 

Apropos  of  years — a  lady  here  tells  me  that  a  new 

Army  chaplain   at    Bombay,   who   put   Hs   wrongly, 

began   a   sermon   thus — "  Here's   a  go ! " — (meaning 

to  say   "  Years  ago ") :   whereat  the  audience  burst 

into   a    laugh,    and    the    service    was    chopped    up 

instantaneous.  .  .  . 

English  Bar,  and  the  first  Jewish  Q.C.  and  Bencher.     President 
of  the  Senate  of  University  College,  London. 

1  His  eldest  sister  Ann,   to  whom  he  wrote  constantly  till 
her  death. 

2  Lord  Wilton,  the    second   Earl,  second  son  of  the  first 
Marquess  of  Westminster. 

130 


San   Remo 

I  will  describe  my  house  and  garden  at  some 
other  thyme.  At  present  I  am  putting  up  fences 
all  round — planting  beans — making  blinds  and  cutting 
carpets, — and  now  I  must  buy  some  cypresses.  You 
see,  all  these  things  come  at  once,  and  resemble 
the  house  that  Jack  built :  If  I  don't  make  a  large 
cistern  I  can't  get  water:  if  I  get  no  water  I  can't 
have  beans  and  potatoes  :  if  I  don't  make  a  fence 
the  beans  will  be  trodden  down :  and  all  must  be 
done  before  the  hot  weather  comes  on.  .  .  . 

As  for  C.  I  should  gladly  know  how  he  likes 
the  new  B[oard]  of  T[rade]  place  and  its  labour. 
He  is  so  conscientious  that  he  will  needs  master 
his  new  work,  but  I,  who  am  ignorant  of  these 
things,  do  not  know  if  it  will  be  greater  or  less 
labour  than  the  Irish  Secretaryship.  In  some  sense, 
I  am  glad  both  for  him  and  you,  that  the  change 
has  been  made :  and  I  truly  hope  it  will  answer 
in  all  ways,  to  both  of  you  and  to  the  Public.  .  .  . 

I  vow  I  have  eaten  up  the  whole  bone!  and 
the  letter — such  as  it  is — is  done. 

April  24.     1 87 1. 
Which  shall  I  write  to  ?    Both  at  once  ?    Very  well, 

,Lady  Walde, 
then  here  goes.      My  dear    j  grave     C.  S.  •    I   have 

I  P.  40scue. 
just  got  your  letters,  left  in  my  new  post  box  in 
my  new  front  door,  over  the  old  plate  that  used 
to  be  in  15  Stratford  Place.  ...  I  took  the  letter 
out  into  "  my  garden"  and  read  it  under  one  of  my 
own  olive  trees,  (vide  illustration  No.  1).  .  .  .  Yes — 
I  did  see — C.  asks — that  brutal  manifesto  about  the 

131 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

D  d'Afumale].1  Poor  people,  they  must  be  suffering 
keenly  through  all  these  horrors.  But,  alas, — where 
are  they  to  end  ?  And  what  a  state  of  rottenness 
does  the  past  year  show  to  have  been  the  condition 
of  France ! !  I  declare  at  times,  I  almost  fear  it  can 
never  be  one  nation  again,  but  will  go  on  and  dwindle 
away  as  Poland  did. 

I  wonder  if  you  will  ever  come  abroad,  and  some- 


jp.i 


v 


■jut  jfc-  i  ^rf£4^-  *?**'*£ 


times  wish  the  Government  might  change,  that  you 
might  have  a  holiday.  I  am  quite  unlikely  to  come 
to  England :  who  can  tell  when  I  shall  do  so  if  ever  ? 
All  January,  February,  and  up  to  March  25,  I  passed 
in  lodgings,  going  however  daily  to  my  villa  and 
getting  it  ready  by  degrees.  Three  days  short  of  a 
year  from  the  time  I  purchased  the  ground,  (March  28, 
1870),  I  moved  in  my  last  bit  of  furniture,  and,  thanks 

1  Preventing  him  from  serving  in  the  Franco- Prussian  War. 
He  was,  however,  elected  to  the  Assembly. 

132 


San  Remo 

to  the  excellent  arrangement  and  care  of  my  good  old 
servant  Giorgio,  I  have  since  then  been  living  as 
comfortably  as  if  I  had  been  here  20  years.  Only 
I  never  before  had  such  a  painting  room — 32  feet 
by  20 — with  a  light  I  can  work  by  at  all  hours,  and  a 
clear  view  south  over  the  sea.  Below  it  is  a  room  of 
the  same  size,  which  I  now  use  as  a  gallery,  and  am 
"  at  home  "  in  once  a  week — Wednesday  :  though  as 
Enoch  Arden  said  in  the  troppicle  Zone  V  Still  no 
sail,  no  sail,"  and  only  one  ^12   drawing  has  been 

,**2 


3. 

bought,  (that  one  bye  the  bye  by  a  great  friend  of  the 
D.  Urquharts  * — Monteith  of  Carstairs).  (He  brought 
me  a  letter  from  E.  Lushington.)  One  picture  ^30 
has  also  been  bought,  but  ^42  is  my  extent  of  income 
for  the  year.  I  am  now  hard  at  work  on  Lord 
Derby's  Corfu.  But  I  have  sent  five  small  oil 
finished  paintings,  30  pounders,  to  Foord  and  Dickin- 
son 2  for  the  chance  of  their  being  exhibited,  of  which 
as  yet  I  know  nothing.     To  prove  to  you  both  that 

1  David  Urquhart  had  married  Fortescue's  sister. 

2  In  Wardour  Street. 

133 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  am  not  yet  become  a  vegetable,  I  may  add  that  I 
sent  three  drawings,  (Lord  Shaftesbury  took  them,) 
to  try  to  get  into  the  Old  Watercolour  Society,  but 
they  elected  six  new  members,  me  not.  It  was  all 
but  a  despair  of  getting  things  to  England,  but  a 
Mr.  Eaton  most  kindly  took  my  pictures,  vide 
illustration  No.  2. 

Add  to  these  undertakings,  I  am  actually  going  in 
for  carrying  out  my  twenty  years  old  plan  of  the 
Landscape  illustrations  of  A.  Tennyson,  in  number 
112  I1  of  course  only  by  degrees.  "  Moonlight  on 
still  waters  between  walls "  etc,  is  already  far  ad- 
vanced. Tomohrit,  Athos,  also  begun.  (C.S.P.F. 
has  one  of  the  designs — "  Morn  broadens.")  What 
delights  me  here  is  the  utter  quiet:  twittery  birds 
alone  break  the  silence,  as  I  now  sit,  in  my  library, 
writing  at  C's   "  Fortescue  " 2  or   writing-table.  .  .  . 

Giorgio  goes  to  town  half  a  mile  off,  twice  or  three 
times  a  week,  and  besides  his  other  work  takes  to 
gardening  of  his  own  account.  He  finds  he  can 
manage  all  the  indoor  work,  but  I  have  a  gardener 
as  well,  for  10/-  a  week  for  the  rougher  labour, 
drawing  water,  boot  cleaning  etc.,  and  digging.  I 
should  have  told  you  I  am  also  preparing  a  book 
on  the  whole  of  the  Riviera  coast,  so  that  you  see 
I  am  not  idle.  My  neighbour,  below  my  villa,  is 
Lady  K.  Shuttleworth  3 :  above,  Walter  Congreve,  of 

1  The  contemplated  list  of  200  is  reproduced  at  the  end  of 
the  book  (p.  368). 

2  Original  drawing  to  Fortescue  on  receiving  his  gift  of  a 
writing-table  when   in  Stratford  Place  several  years  before. 

3  Janet,  only  child  and  heiress  of  the  late  Robert  Shuttleworth 
of  Gawthorpe  Hall,  by  Janet  his  wife,  eldest  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Marjoribanks,  Bart.     Died  September,  1872. 

134 


San  Remo 


I3S 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

whom  and  of  whose  two  boys  I  see  a  great  deal. 
And  yesterday  his  brother  Richard,  and  a  sister 
arrived.  R.  Congreve  was,  with  Arthur  Clough, 
Arnold's  favourite  pupil.  He  is  a  man  of  great 
ability,  but  a  Comtist  and  I  fancy  an  out  and 
out  republican,  tho'  I  am  not  sure  of  this.  Letters 
are  my  principal  delight,  for  tho'  I  like  flowers  and 
a  garden,  I  don't  like  working  in  it. 


*m 


Lear  to  Fortescue. 

Villa  Emily.    San  Remo. 

13  Sept.  1871. 

I'm  pretty  well  again  just  now — but  very  much 
aged  of  late  :  internal  accident  tells  as  I  grow  older. 
Moreover  I  got  unwell  at  Botzen — Bellzebubbotzen- 

136 


VILLA   EMILY 


THE   GARDEN   OF  VILLA  TENNYSON. 


San  Remo 

hofe,  as  I  called  it  on  account  of  its  horrid  row  of 
bells  and  bustle, — and  have  only  been  restored  to 
comparatively  decent  comfort  since  I  came  back  here 
to  my  native  'ome  and  hair.  The  spring  here  was 
absolutely  lovely,  and  my  new  house  and  garden  very 
nice  and  amusing.  But  as  my  good  old  man  Giorgio 
had  to  go  home  for  August,  and  as  I  didn't  care  to 
educate  another  servant  for  six  weeks  ...  I  set  off 
to  Genoa  .  .  .  and  thence  went  straight  to  the  Italian 
capital.  ...  I  stayed  at  Frascati,  with  Duke  and 
Duchess  Sermoneta,  and  afterwards  with  Prince  and 
Princess  Teano  (she  is  Ld.  Derby's  cousin  Ada 
Wilbraham,  and  about  the  handsomest  woman  I  have 
seen  for  a  long  time),  and  saw  no  end  of  various 
people  both  in  Rome  and  in  a  tour  I  made  by 
Bologna  and  Padua  all  through  the  Belluno  province. 
Two  things  are  difficult  to  realise  : — the  immense 
progress  Italy  has  made — the  Emilian  and  Naples 
provinces  are  actually  metamorphosed — and  secondly, 
the  intense  and  ever  increasing  hatred  of  the  people 
to  the  priest  class.  Even  I  have  more  than  once 
tried  to  moderate  the  horror  expressed  by  Italians. 
"  Surely,"  I  said  to  some  parties, — "  you  might  make 
exceptions ;  you  should  at  least  allow  that  numbers 
of  priests  are  individually  excellent  men."  "  True  " — 
said  the  most  cautious  and  least  violent  of  the  persons 
in  company — "  true  :  but  will  you  point  out  one  of 
these  men,  even  the  most  guiltless  and  good,  who 
must  not,  if  his  bishop  orders  him  so  to  do,  preach 
war  and  bloodshed  and  hatred  to  his  flock  ?  "  I  could 
say  nothing — knowing,^as  well  I  do,  how  earnestly 
the  P[apal]  P[arty]  hope  for  F[rance's]  intervention. 
Anything  to  save  their  caste  and  power.     The  whole 

*37 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

people  too,  barring  the  women,  seem  to  have  become 
aware  of  the  absurdity  of  their  priests'  pretensions. 
Why  have  any  more  Papal  benedictions?  is  commonly 
said,  since  everyone  of  those  blessed  by  the  Pope, — 
Maximilian,  Nap.  3,  Isabella,  Francis,1  &c.  &c.  have 
come  to  grief?  I  could  tell  you  scores  of  anecdotes 
of  the  gulfs  of  hatred  between  the  classes — a  feeling 
however  that  happily  is  only  shown  by  the  less 
educated — and,  to  the  honour  of  Italians  be  it  said — 
very  rarely  allowed  to  take  the  form  of  open  injury 
or  even  insult.  .  .  . 

0  you Landscape  painter,   I  hear  you  say — 

swallow    your   d d    inkstand,    but    don't    go    on 

writing  politics.  So  I  go  on  to  say  I  went  all 
about  for  six  weeks,  and  then  came  back  here, 
where  at  this  moment  I  am  in  a  very  unsettled 
condition,  as  the  oyster  said  when  they  poured  melted 
butter  all  over  his  back.  For  I  am  expecting  F. 
Lushington  (Thames  Police  Court)  here  to  make  a 
little  tour :  and  before  that  happens,  I  go  over  to 
Cannes — where  Bellenden  Kerr  is  dying — to  see  poor 
Mrs.  K.  And  Giorgio  being  away,  I  am  only  working 
in  my  wilier,  but  eating  and  sleeping  in  a  Notel. 
I  stayed  a  few  days  too  at  San  Romolo — above 
here — where  my  friend  Congreve  has  built  a  cottage. 
Congreve  is  a  vast  blessing  to  me  :  he  is  a  pupil  of 
Arnold's,  and  brother  of  the  (Orthodox)  Vicar  of 
Tooting,  and  to  the  (Unorthodox)  Apostle  of  Posi- 

1  Maximilian,  Emperor  of  Mexico,  the  younger  brother  of 
Francis  Joseph  I.  accepted  the  crown  of  Mexico  in  1863,  and 
was  betrayed  and  shot  there  in  May,  1867. 

Isabella  II.,  ex-Queen  of  Spain,  married  her  cousin  Francisco 
de  Assisi,  and  was  expelled  to  France  in  1868. 
Francis,  husband  of  Isabella. 

138 


San  Remo 

tivism,  Dr.  R.  C.1  He  himself  was  Under  Master 
of  Rugby  under  Tait,  and  at  one  time  gazetted  as 
second  master  at  Marlborough  School, — but  his  wife's 
health  failed,  then  his  own,  and  then  the  eldest  of 
his  three  sons  ;  so  he  had  to  give  up  English  life, 
and,  coming  here,  first  the  son  and  then  the  wife 
died — leaving  him  with  two  little  boys.  Then  he 
re-married  in  two  years,  and  now,  only  last  October, 
the  second  wife  has  died.  .  .  .  With  all  that  memory 
of  suffering  to  bear  up  against,  and  much  ill  health 
besides — he  is  one  of  the  most  hardworking  men  for 
others  I  have  met  with,  and  whenever  he  dies  it  will 
be  a  dreary  day  for  San  Remo.  You  may  suppose 
the  comfort  it  is  to  me  to  have  my  next  neighbour 
a  scholar  and  such  a  man  to  boot  as  Walter 
Congreve.  .  .  . 

Meanwhile,  if  you  come  here  directly,  I  can  give 
you  3  figs,  and  2  bunches  of  grapes :  but  if  later, 
I  can  only  offer  you  4  small  potatoes,  some  olives, 
5  tomatoes,  and  a  lot  of  castor  oil  berries.  These, 
if  mashed  up  with  some  crickets  who  have  sponge- 
taneously  come  to  life  in  my  cellar,  may  make  a 
novel,  if  not  nice  or  nutritious  Jam  or  Jelley. 
Talking  of  bosh,  I  have  done  another  whole  book 
of  it:  it  is  to  be  called  "MORE  NONSENSE" 
and  Bush  brings  it  out  at  Xmas :  it  will  have  a 
portrait  of  me  outside,  I  should  have  liked  to 
dedicate  it  to  you,  but  I  thought  it  was  not 
dignified  enough  for  a  Cabinet  M.  so  shall  wait  till 
my  Riviera  book  comes  out  for  that.  Besides  all 
this,  (for  that  Riviera  book  also  progresses)  and 
besider  and  besider  still,    I  go  on  at  intervals  with 

1  See  p.  124. 
139 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

my  Tennyson  Illustration  Landscapes — 112  in 
number.  (Don't  laugh!)  not  that  I'm  such  a  fool 
as  to  suppose  that  I  can  ever  live  to  finish  them, 
(seven  more  years  at  farthest  I  think  will  conclude 
this  child),  but  I  believe  it  wiser  to  create  and  go 
on  with  new  objects  of  interest  as  the  course  of 
nature  washes  and  sweeps  the  old  ones  away. 

Your  Irish  island  seems  in  a  pleasing  state. 
Humph.  .  .  .  How  is  Mrs.  Hy.  Bruce?  He  don't 
seem  popular  anyhow  *  — tho'  I  don't  say  that  he 
is  by  that  proved  to  be  incapable.  I  may  add, 
however,  that  a  man  who  don't  know  you,  wrote  to 
me  "the  only  one  of  all  the  Ministers  who  has  not 
got  into  some  mess  or  other,  and  who  does  what 
he  has  to  do  quietly  and  well,  is  C.  Fortescue."  I 
could  wish,  however,  that  what  you  have  to  do 
were  more  to  your  taste ;  perhaps  its  not  being  so 
may  do  you  good,  my  dear, — as  was  said  to  the 
little  boy  who  would'nt  take  physic  quietly.  .  .  . 
Give  my  kind  remembrances  to  My  Lady.  Mind, 
if  ever  you,  either  or  both,  come  by  here,  (whenever 
this  Ministry  tumbles)  and  don't  let  me  know,  I 
will  never  speak  to  you  again  as  sure  as  beetles  is 
beetles. 

P.S.  I've  a  Noffer  to  go  with  a  Neldest  son  to 
the  East  for  six  months — tin  cart  blanche.  Offer 
declined. 

P. P.S.  I've  made  a  lot  of  new  riddles  of  late  and 
am  very  proud  of  them. 

When  may  the  Lanes  and  Roads  have  shed  tears 
of  sympathy  ?     When  the  Street1 'swept, 

1  Henry  Bruce  was  at  this  time  Home  Secretary,  he  was 
created  Lord  Aberdare  in  1873. 

140 


San  Remo 

What  letter  confounds  Comets  and  Cookery  ? 

G — for  it  turns  Astronomy  into  Gastronomy. 
Why  are  beginners  on  a  Pianoforte  like  parasites 
on  the  backs  of  deceased  fishes? 

Because  they  are  always  running  up  and  down 
their  d d  miserable  scales. 


//^yyy^iZ^ 


'<*& 


Xmas  Day.     1871. 
As  your  last  letter  to 
me   was    a    joint    com- 
position, I  shall  write  a 
r  ^^  jT      few  nnes  to  both  of  you 

T^\         j*Z       at  once>  just  to  wish  you 
-yTVwp  both     a     happy     Xmas 

I.  '  and     New     Year     and 

many  such.  .  .  . 

I'm   sorry  to   hear   Lady   Strachey   is   so   unwell : 

I  often  think  how  nicely  her  little  boy >  would 
repeat  a  poem  I  have  lately  made  on  the  Yonghy 
Bonghy  Bo.  .  .  . 

I   wonder   if  you  have  both  been  edified  by  my 

II  More  Nonsense,"  which  I  find  is  enthusiastically 
received  by  the  world  in  general.  I  was  only  away 
from  San  Remo  a  little  while  in  October,  going 
as  far  as  Genoa  with  Frankling  Lushington  of 
Thames  P[olice]  Court, — who  came  to  stay  with  me 
a  bit.  ... 

My  garden  is  a  great  delight,  and  looking  beautiful. 
Mice  are  plentiful  and  so  are  green  caterpillars ; 
I  think  of  experimenting  on  both  these  as  objects 
of  culinary  attraction. 

1  Henry  Strachey  the  youngest  son,  an  artist  and  the  writer  of 
the  "  Appreciation  "  of  Mr.  Lear  in  the  first  volume. 

141 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Whether  I  shall  come  to  England  next  year  or 
knot  is  as  yet  idden  in  the  mists  of  the  fewcher. 
My  elth  is  tolerable,  but  I  am  60  next  May,  and 
feel  growing  old.  Going  up  and  downstairs  worries 
me,  and  I  think  of  marrying  some  domestic  henbird 
and  then  of  building  a  nest  in  one  of  my  own 
olive  trees,  where  I  should  only  descend  at  remote 
intervals  during  the  rest  of  my  life.  This  is  an 
orfle  letter  for  stupidity,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it. 


To  Fortes  cue. 

Dec.  315/.  1871.  8.  p.m. 
I  have  a  long  and  very  nice  letter  from  you  today — 
dated  Xmas  Day,  on  which  day  you  will,  I  hope, 
before  now  have  discovered  that  I  was  also  writing 
to  you — a  simultaneous — sympathetic  coincidence 
highly   respectable.  .  .  .  The   party1    you    give    me 

1  The  usual  Christmas  family  party. 
142 


San  Remo 

a  list  of  is  altogether  hearty  and  Christmaslike, 
and  that  is  better  than  if  it  were  brilliant  and  less 
the  genial  qualities.  I  suppose  there  is  not  one 
woman  in  many  thousand  who  amid  all  the  fuss  and 
bustle  of  rank  and  the  world's  going  on,  keeps  so 
exactly  the  same  as  to  kindheartedness  as  does 
Lady  Waldegrave.  Numbers  who  have  grown  into 
richer  and  higher  positions  than  fall  to  the  lot  of 
their  early  belongings  would  gladly  have  them  in 
the  house  or  to  do  homage  in  public :  but  that  tinsel 
is  seen  through  very  quickly :  whereas  it  is  as  quickly 
discovered  that  My  Lady  hasn't  any  tinsel  at 
all.  .  .  . 

As  for  your  Ireland,  I  don't  know  what  to  say : 
you  ain't  a  comfortable  people,  no,  you  ain't.  .  .  . 
I  am  very  glad  you  all  like  the  "  More  Nonsense." 
I  have  written  a  ballad  lately  on  the  "Yonghy 
Bonghy  Bo  "  which  (and  its  music)  make  a  furore 
here.1     I   shall   ask    Bush   if  single   ballads    can    be 

1  Regarding  this  accomplishment  of  Lear's  of  singing,  two 
little  anecdotes  from  other  letters  may  not  be  inappropriate 
here — 

"Miladi  .  .  .  once  rose  suddenly  as  I  had  been  singing 
1  Tears  etc '  :  and  said  as  she  left  the  room — '  You  are  the 
only  person  whose  singing  could  make  me  cry  whether  I  would 
or  not.'" 

"  Poking  up  old  memories,  I  come  across  one  very  charac- 
teristic of  Milady's  clever  kindness  :  when  I  gave  up  singing, 
on  account  of  my  throat  etc  :  she  came  once  into  the  drawing- 
room  at  Strawberry  Hill  just  as  a  lot  of  people  were  bothering 
and  bullying  me  to  sing,  and  I  wouldn't,  and  was  losing  my 
temper.  When  Lady  W.  heard  what  was  the  matter,  she 
said — in  her  decided  way  :  '  It  is  a  public  calamity  ;  but  for 
all  that  you  shall  never  be  asked  to  sing  again  in  my  house, 
for  I  know  you  would  if  you  could.'  " 

143 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

brought  out,  or  two  or  three  at  a  time.  ...  It  is 
queer  (and  you  would  say  so  if  you  saw  me)  that 
I  am  the  man  as  is  making  some  three  or  four 
thousand  people  laugh  in  England  all  at  one  time, 
— to  say  the  least,  for  I  hear  2,000  of  the  new 
Nonsense  are  sold. 

To  Fortescue. 

28.  Feby.  1872. 

Yes  you  have  had,  have,  and  are  having,  and  are 
still  to  have  a  beeeeeeeestly  winter,  and  are  much  to  be 
pitted.  We  aint  ad  none  at  all  :  and  I've  never  had  a 
fire  till  the  evening  in  my  sitting-room — no, — not  once. 
Can't  you  rush  out  at  Easter,  and  stay  for  three  or 
four  days  ?  You  could  come  in  three  and  go  back  in 
three.  I  could  put  you  up  beautifully  and  feed  you 
decently,  but  I  couldn't  the  Lady,  having  but  one  spair 
bedroom,  and  no  feemel  servants.  I  have  got  several 
large  drawing  boards,  which  you  could  use  as  Boards 
of  Trade,  and  if  you  are  making  Bills,  you  might  put 
a  lot  in  your  trunk  and  finish  them  here  quite  quietly. 
There  ain't  a  creature  here  you  would  know  I  think — 
Lord  and  Lady  Derby  are  at  Nice,  and  may  come  here 
bye  and  bye, — unless  colonially  you  know  Lady  Grey 
who  is  Sir  G.  N[ew]  Zealand  Grey's  l  wife  or  widow. 
Didn't  she  marry  someone  else  and  keep  her  own 
name  ?  I  can't  help  fancying  I  have  heard  of  her, 
tho'  like  Belshazzar's  dream,  don't  know  what  about. 

A  sister  of  Mrs.  Henry  Grenfell  is  here2 — and  one 

1  Sir  George  Grey,  K.C.B.,  Governor  of  New  Zealand  for  the 
second  time  in  1 861-1867,  was  Premier  of  'New  Zealand  from 
1867  to  1874.     He  had  unbounded  influence  with  the  Maoris. 

2  See  p.  97. 

144 


San  Remo 

or  two  nice  people  besides,  but  we  are  all  humdrum 
middle  class  coves  and  covesses,  and  no  swells. 

I  have  very  kind  letters  from  Northbrook,  who  is 
glad  to  have  his  children  there :  I  am  doing  two 
pictures  of  the  Pirrybids  for  him.  Patronage  ain't 
abundiant  at  San  Remo,  but  I  have  a  maggrifficent 
gallery,  with  ninety-nine  water  color  drawings,  not  to 
speak  of  five  larger  oils,  of  the  series  illustrative  of 
A.  Tennyson's  pomes  : — 

i.  The  crag  that  fronts  the  evening,  all  along  the 
shadowed  shore. 

2.  Moonlight  on  still  waters,  between  walls  etc. 

3.  Tomohrit. 

4.  The  vast  Acroceraunian  walls. 

5.  Creamy  lines  of  curvy  spray, 

none  of  these  however  are  finished,  though  visible  to 
the  naked  eye  :  nor  do  I  intend  to  part  with  any  of 
them. 

(In  one  is  a  big  beech  tree,  at  which  all  intelligent 
huming  beans  say — "  Beech  !  " — when  they  see  it.  For 
all  that  one  forlorn  ijiot  said — "  Is  that  a  Palm-tree 
Sir?" — "No,"  replied  I  quietly, — M  it  is  a  Peruvian 
Brocoli,") 

I  live  very  quietly,  and  fancy  my  eye  getting  better 
low  and  then,  but  ain't  sure.  Sometimes  I  go  to 
-hurch  and  sit  under  Mr.  Fenton  and  hear  all  about 

Le  big  fish  as  swallowed  Jonah.     A  small  walk  daily 

-but  this  ain't  a  place  for  walks.  If  you  come  I'll 
show  you  the  Infant  school,  and  the  Municipality,  and 
a  Lemon  valley,  and  an  oil  press,  and  a  Railway 
station,  and  a  Sanctuary  and  several  poodles — not  to 
speak  of  my  cat  who  has  no  end  of  a  tail,  because  it 
has  been  cut  off. 

145  K 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

My  old  servant  Giorgio  is  much  the  regular  old 
clock  he  has  been  for  seventeen  years  :  and  is  pleased 
by  letters  from  two  of  his  sons  once  a  fortnight.  My 
other  domestics  are  a  bandylegged  gardener  and  Foss 
the  Cat. I     Ask  my  lady  to   lock   up   the    Board    of 


Trade  for  ten  days — and  run  hither.  Only  let  me 
know  if  you  are  coming  and  the  day. 

My  dear  old  kind  Dr.  Lushington  is  gone,  and  half 
one's  old  friends.  I  must  say  that  life  becomes  werry 
werry  pongdomphious. 

Goodbye  O  my  board  of  trade  ! ! 

0  Samuel ! ! !     O  Parkinson  ! ! ! ! 
Goodbye. 

Fortescue  to  Lear. 

Dudbrook, 

May  17.  1872. 

1  have  been  a  brute  in  not  writing  to  you  before  ; 
indeed  I  believe  Official  and  Parliamentary  life  is  a 
brutalizing  process, — all  the  more  so  because  your 
last  letter  (I  am  afraid  to  search  my  boxes  to  see  its 
date)  gave  a  poor  account  of  your  health.     My  lady 

x  The  celebrated  Foss  who  came  into  Lear's  life  about  this 
time.  His  name  was  the  middle  syllable  of  a  Greek  word,  and 
each  kitten  of  this  family  represented  the  remaining  ones,  the 
combined  family  fulfilling  the  entire  word. 

146 


San  Remo 

and  I  have  talked  about  you  many  a  time,  and 
wondered  whether  we  should  see  you  appear  above 
our  horizon  this  summer.  .  .  . 

The  most  interesting  event  that  has  happened  of 
late  among  our  common  friends  was  the  departure  of 
Northbrook  for  India.1  The  dinner  given  to  him  was 
a  very  brilliant  one.  On  the  day  he  started  I  break- 
fasted with  him  at  45,  St.  James'  Place  with  H. 
Grenfell  and  two  other  old  Christ  Church  friends.2 
There  is  a  deep  melancholy  in  him — but  a  strong 
sense  of  duty  and  a  sincere  feeling  for  his  friends.  .  .  . 

We  have  been  entertaining  the  King  of  the  Belgians 
in  London. 

Lear  to  Fortescue. 

26  May.  1872. 

Your  letter  was  very  welcome  :  I  wonder  how  you 
ever  find  time  for  writing.  I  agree  with  you  that 
Parliamentary  and  official  life  is  more  or  less  hardening, 
but  you  will  bear  a  good  lot  of  brutalizing  before  you 
become  wholly  unbearable. 

Now,  concerning  my  coming  to  England  :  at  present 
I  am  on  the  point  of  believing  that  I  shall  leave  here 
about  the  15th  or  20th  of  June,  and  arrive  in  London 
before  the  end  of  it.  .  .  . 

But  in  coming  to  England,  I  quite  renounce  all 
going  into  the  country.  I  will  never  again  commence 
the  ineffable  worry  of  distant  hurried  journeys  to 
country  houses,  at  a  serious  expense,  and  to  almost  no 
purpose  as  to  seeing  the  friends  whom  nominally  I  go 
to  see.      The  conditions  and  positions  of  life  of  most 

1  As  Viceroy.  a  Robert  Drummond  one  of  them. 

147 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

of  those  I  knew  in  earlier  years  are  so  altered,  that 
although  they,  (happily,)  the  friends  themselves,  are 
quite  unaltered — no  personal  communication  can  now 
be  had  with  them  worth  such  sacrifices  as  must  be 
made  to  obtain  it.  Nor  must  I  overlook  the  fact  that 
my  invitations  are  all  but  innumerable,  and  although 
A.  B.  and  C.  may  say  justly,  we  are  surely  more 
entitled  to  your  time  than  D.  E.  and  F. — yet  D.  E. 
and  F.  are  just  as  desirous  of  visits,  and  so  are  all  the 
alphabet. 

I  have  determined  therefore  that  what  I  see  of 
friends  in  this  (most  probably  my  last  visit  to  England,) 
must  be  in  London.  How  long  I  shall  remain  there  I  can- 
not as  yet  conjecture :  all  will  depend  on  my  decision 
as  to  India,  for,  as  you  do  not  mention  it  you  perhaps 
have  not  heard  that  Northbrook  with  the  utmost  kind- 
ness wrote  to  me,  offering  to  take  me  out  with  him, 
give  me  a  year's  sightseeing,  and  send  me  back  free 
of  expense. 

This  offer  has  greatly  unsettled  me,  (combined  with 
another  cause  which  occurred  simultaneously,)  and 
although  I  was  obliged  at  once  to  decline  moving  so 
suddenly,  yet  I  have  by  no  means  decided  on  giving 
up  the  plan,  all  the  more  that  N.  renewed  his  offer  and 
gives  me  an  indefinite  time  for  it  to  be  accepted  in. 
He  came  as  you  know,  to  Cannes,  to  see  Mr.  T. 
Baring,1  and  thither  I  went  to  meet  him.  We  came 
over  on  the  last  day  of  his  stay,  to  Nice  and  thence 
walked  to  Mentone  where,  poor  dear  fellow,  he  looked 
at  every  spot  he  had  lived  in  with  Lady  N.,  and  with 

1  His  uncle,  who  later  left  him  half  a  million  of  money,  4, 
Hamilton  Place,  and  its  splendid  treasures  of  pictures,  furniture, 
and  china. 

148 


San  Remo 

his  boy  Arthur.  Next  day  he  embarked.  The 
qualities  with  which  you  credit  him  are  assuredly  his 
characteristics  :  I  have  known  no  kinder  or  better 
man.  Meanwhile  Frank  and  Miss  Baring,1  his  two 
children,  go  out  to  him  in  November,  and  both  write, 
hoping  that  I  shall  go  too.  But  with  all  my  attachment 
to  the  whole  lot,  there  is  something  antagonistic  to  my 
nature  to  travelling  as  part  of  a  suite  ;  and  indeed, 
though  I  am  not  in  the  strongest  sense  of  the  word 
Bohemian,  I  have  just  so  much  of  that  nature  as  it  is 
perhaps  impossible  the  artistic  and  poetic  beast  can  be 
born  without.  Always  accustomed  from  a  boy  to  go 
my  own  ways  uncontrolled,  I  cannot  help  fearing  that 
I  should  run  rusty  and  sulky  by  reason  of  retinues  and 
routines.  This  impression  it  is  which  keeps  me  turn- 
ing over  and  over  in  what  I  please  to  call  my  mind 
what  I  had  best  do.  Sometimes  I  think  I  will  cut 
away  to  Bombay,  with  my  old  servant,  and  writing 
thence  to  Northbrook,  do  parts  of  India  as  I  can,  and 
ask  him  to  let  me  take  out  some  money  in  drawings. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  hate  the  thought  of  being  un- 
gracious or  wanting  in  friendliness.  The  Himalayas, 
Darjeeling,  Delhi,  Ceylon,  etc,  etc,  are  what  I  have 
always  wished  to  see  :  but,  all'  opposto,  here  I  have  a 
new  house,  and  to  flee  away  from  it  as  soon  as  it  is 
well  finished  seems  a  kind  of  giddiness  which  it  rather 
humiliates  me  to  think  of  practising. 

As  for  my  health,  though  I  was  sixty  on  the  12  th. 
inst,  I  am  considerably  better  than  I  was  a  year  back: 
and  by  carefully  avoiding  lifting  weights  or  running 
uphill,  I  may  possibly  bungle  through  eight  or  ten 
more  years  yet, — though  I  doubt.  .  .  . 

1  The  present  Earl  of  Northbrook  and  Lady  Emma  Crichton. 

149 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Anyhow  it  is  clear  to  me,  and  I  daresay  to  you  also, 
that  totally  unbroken  application  to  poetical-topo- 
graphical painting  and  drawing  is  my  universal  panacea 
for  the  ills  of  life.  You  can  however  imagine  that  I 
live  very  comfortably  in  my  villa,  when  I  tell  you  that 
Lady  Charles  and  Miss  Percy — Mr.  Baring  and  Count 
Streletsky,1  among  others  have  lunched  and  dined 
with  me :  yet  perhaps  you  are  saying  this  proves 
nothing  as  they  might  have  had  a  beastly  lot  of  food 
and  have  been  sick  directly  afterwards.  .  .  . 

I  wish  you  could  have  come  out,  though  I  couldn't 
have  put  up  Milady  too.  Might  you  not  work  in  the 
sale  of  olives  as  a  matter  fitting  to  the  Board  of  Trade, 
and  insist  on  a  personal  inspection  of  the  trees  of  San 
Remo  ?  But  in  truth  I  do  not  much  suppose  that  we 
shall  ever  talk  as  of  old,  until  we  come  to  sit  as  cherubs 
on  rails — if  any  rails  there  be, — in  Paradise. 


1  He  was  a  well-known  Pole  in  English  Society  in  Lear's  time 
— he  had  travelled  much,  and  the  joke  was  to  mention  any  out- 
of-the-way  place,  and  to  hear  him  say  u  I  was  there." 


150 


I 


CHAPTER    IV 

November,   1872,  to  September,   1873. 

san  remo  {continued) 

A  T  the  end  of  October  Lear  set  out  on  the 
^"*-  journey  to  India,  but  abandoned  it  half- 
way and  returned  to  San  Remo,  writing  on 
the  24th  November : — 

I  got  as  far  as  Suez,  but  the  landscape  painter  does 
not  purSuez  eastern  journey  farther.  .  .  .  Neither 
you  nor  Lady  Waldegrave  will  have  any  Indy-Ink 
or  Indy-rubber  brought  by  me  from  Indy  as  I  pro- 
mised, and  a  fit  of  Indy-gestion  is  all  that  remains  to 
me  of  that  Oriental  bubble  at  present ; — even  that  too 
I  believe  is  less  caused  by  my  Indy-proclivities  than 
by  my  having  foolishly  eaten  a  piece  of  apple  pudding 
yesterday  evening. 

I  found  much  greater  difficulty  in  getting  on  than 
I  had  expected ;  at  that  season,  every  hole  and  corner 
of  the  outward  steamers  is  crammed,  and  although 
they  frequently  have  a  few  berths  as  far  as  Malta 
or  even  Brindisi,  yet  late  comers  to  these  places  have 

151 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

prior  rights,  so  that  after  waiting  a  week  you  find 
that  at  Suez  the  list  is  filled  up. 

I  could  not  stand  waiting  longer,  so  I  took  my 
place  in  a  French  boat,  but  that  at  the  last  moment 
I  missed  by  a  singular  chance  of  ill-luck,  whereon  I 
allowed  all  this  (together  with  a  small  reminder  that 
I  had  suffered  by  the  blow  on  my  head  in  the  autumn 
and  which  pained  me  whenever  I  went  into  the 
sunshine, — my  right  eye  too  is  slightly  injured),  to 
act  as  the  last  feather  in  a  scale  already  pretty  equally 
balanced,  and  sacrificing  the  ticket  to  Ceylon,  I 
returned  to  Alexandria  and  Brindisi  and  San  Remo — 
leaving  the  long  Indian  voyage  unattempted  after 
all,  and  probably  now  never  to  be  made. 

Of  course  it  is  a  bore  to  have  given  so  much 
trouble  to  friends  in  writing  letters,  and  to  have  lost 
so  much  time  and  money,  not  to  speak  of  nearly 
;£iooo  of  commissions,  but  as  Lady  Young  used  to 
observe,  "  crying  over  spilt  milk  is  nonsense,"  and 
with  the  few  years  of  life  now  before  me,  I  avoid 
lamenting  as  far  as  I  can  do  so. 

To  Lady   Waldegrave. 

July  6.  1873. 
Horace  Walpole  is  dead.  He  died  at  the  end  of 
April.  By  which  I  mean,  that  after  reading  his  nine 
volumes  of  letter  journals  all  the  winter,  I  came  to  an 
end  at  last,  and  very  sorry  I  was.  There  is  nothing  like 
a  Diary  of  letters  for  showing  the  real  nature  of  the 
writer,  and  assuredly  I  had  a  very  erroneous  idea 
of  H.  W's  before  I  read  those  books.  I  am  now 
reading  T.  Moore's  diaries,  with  the  utmost  amuse- 

152 


San  Remo 

ment,  and  am  thanking  Lord  Russell l  every  day  as 
is.  T.  Moore  was  a  more  loveable  character  than 
H.  W.:  but  he  wor  not  so  wise,  he  worn't.  Lord 
Lansdowne 2  must  have  been  an  A  No.  i  man :  I 
cannot  but  wonder  when  I  think  of  the  only  two 
hours  I  ever  saw  much  of  him — when  Lady  Davy  3 
brought  him  up  three  pair  of  stairs  to  27  Duke 
Street,  Piccadilly,  (over  Fortnum  and  Mason's,)  to 
look  over  my  Calabrian  drawings  !  !  !  Lady  D.  was 
about  the  queerest  person  I  have  known — altogether, 
I  think. 

I  should  tell  you  that  after  I  read  Horace  W's 
letters,  I  had  intended  to  write  to  you,  but  could  not, 
for  I  fell  ill,  and  was  very  ill  indeed  all  the  end  of 
April.  Eight  or  nine  days  in  bed,  and  with  a  long 
and  slow  recovery.  (This  happened  just  after  I  wrote 
last  to  C.S.P.F. — whizz — on  April  23rd.)  I  did  not 
expect  for  two  or  three  days  that  ever  I  should  have 
got  about  again — nor,  as  I  have  always  hated  con- 
dolences, have  I  told  much  about  the  cause  of  my 
illness — sufficient  as  it  is  that  I  have,  I  am  thankful 
to  say,  become  far  better  in  health  than  I  have  been 
for  a  year  past.  One  thing  however  is  certain :  a 
sedentary  life,  after  moving  about  as  I  have  done 
since  I  was  twenty-four  years  old,  will  infallibly  finish 
me  off  suddingly.     And  although  I  may  be  finished 

1  Moore's  "  Memoirs/'  edited  by  Lord  John  Russell  (8  vols. 
1852-1856). 

2  Lord  Lansdowne,  the  3rd  Marquis,  succeeded  Pitt  as  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  in  the  Grenville  administration,  and 
twice  declined  the  Premiership.  He  formed  a  great  library,  and 
a  valuable  collection  of  pictures  and  statuary,  and  died  1863. 

3  Lady  Davy,  nee  Jane  Kerr,  died  1855,  wife  of  Sir  Humphry 
Davy. 

153 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

off  equally  suddingly  if  I  move  about,  yet  I  incline  to 
think  a  thorough  change  will  affect  me  for  better 
rather  than  for  wusse.  Whereby  I  shall  go  either  to 
Sardinia,  or  India,  or  Jumsibojigglequack  this  next 
winter  as  ever  is. 

Dear  me !  How  I  pity  you  all  when  I  read  of  your 
beastly  climate  month  after  month!  If  you  could  only 
see  the  glorious  blue  and  gold  days  one  has  here — 
day  after  day  !  also  the  phiggs  as  is  ripe !  also  the 
perpetual  quiet — (though  that  you  would  not  like)  and 
alas !  that  is  going  to  cease  too  here — for  Willers  and 
all  kinds  of  horrors  are  growing  fast.  If  I  can't  get 
an  unspoilable  bit  of  land,  I  must  add  to  this,  and 
make  some  alterations,  to  prevent  total  destruction. 

I  remain  here  till  the  end  of  Orgst  at  least.  What's 
the  odds  so  long  as  one's  happy  ? 

My  love  to  the  Board  of  Trade. 


Fortescue  to  Lear, 

Chewton  Priory, 

Bath.    Sept.  3.  1873. 

.  .  .  Lady  Waldegrave  is  not  sure  whether  she 
regrets  that  "  Horace  Walpole  is  dead,"  as  other- 
wise she  would  not  be  the  possessor  of  Strawberry 
Hill.   .  .  . 

No  doubt  you  have  followed  our  political  and 
official    changes.1     They    have    left    me    untouched. 

1  Disagreements  between  the  ministers  were  rife  when  the 
House  was  prorogued  ;  and  several  changes  were  made.  Mr. 
Lowe  was  transferred  from  the  Treasury  to  the  Home  Office. 
Mr.  Gladstone  thus  becoming  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  and 
Premier.     Mr.  Bright  re-entered  the  Cabinet  as  Chancellor  of 

154 


San  Remo 

Gladstone  offered  me  the  Ld.  Lieutenancy  of  Essex, 
but  that  is  a  different  matter.  Bruces  career  is 
curious.  After  being  nearly  five  years  Home  Secre- 
tary, and  violently  (sometimes  cruelly)  abused,  he 
now  finds  himself  in  one  of  the  most  dignified  posi- 
tions a  subject  can  fill.  He  writes  to  me  thus  : 
"  After  duly  weighing  the  pros  and  cons,  I  must 
admit  that  the  changes  in  my  fortunes  are  wel- 
come." .  .  . 

How  worthily  Northbrook  is  filling  his  great  place.1 
I  hear  the  best  accounts  of  him. 

Lear  to  Fortescue. 

Villa  Emily.    Sanremo. 

12  Septbr.  1873. 

On  returning  home  last  night  from  a  vexatious 
journey  to  Genoa  and  back,  I  found  your  nice  letter 
of  the  3d  ;  a  letter  of  yours,  (though  as  I  have  often 
said  I  never  expect  you  to  write,)  is  always  a  Nepok 
in  my  life :  albeit  I  have  of  late  seen  loads  of  your 
handwriting,  having  had  to  overhaul  and  mostly 
destroy  three  large  chestfuls  or  chestsfull  of  Letters. 
— A  dreary  task,  yet  one  that  has  its  good  as  well  as 
its  gloomy  side.  At  the  end  of  my  task,  I  came  to 
two  positive  conclusions  : — 1st.  Owing  to  the  number 
and  variety  of  my  correspondents,  that  every  created 
human  being  capable  of  writing  ever  since  the  inven- 

the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  and  Mr.  Bruce  received  a  Peerage  and 
as  Lord  Aberdare  became  President  of  the  Council. 

1  Lord  Northbrook,  Governor-General  of  India  1872-1876, 
through  his  indefatigable  industry  and  prudence,  commanded 
general  confidence  at  this  critical  time,  when  India  was 
threatened  by  famine. 

155 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


tion  of  letters  must  have  written  to  me,  with  a  few 
exceptions  perhaps,  such  as  the  prophet  Ezekiel, 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  and  the  Venerable  Bede. 
2ndly.  That  either  all  my  friends  must  be  fools  or 
mad  ;  or,  on  the  contrary,  if  they  are  not  so,  there 
must  be  more  good  qualities  about  this  child  than  he 
ever  gives  or  has  given  himself  credit  for  possessing — 
else  so  vast  and  long  continued  a  mass  of  kindness  in 
all  sorts  of  shapes  could  never  have  happened  to  him. 
Seriously  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  puzzles  to  me,  who 
am  sure  I  am  one  of  the  most  selfish  and  cantanker- 
ous brutes  ever  born,  that  heaps  and  heaps  of  letters 
—  and  these  letters  only  the  visible  signs  of  endless 
acts  of  kindness,  from  such  varieties  of  persons  could 

have  ever  been  written  to 
me!  Out  of  all  I  kept 
some  specimens  of  each 
writer  more  or  less  in- 
teresting— four  hundred 
and  forty-four  individuals 
in  all,  and  out  of  these  I 
name  forty  at  a  venture, 
as  those  who  have  done 
me  most  good.  But  such 
are  the  queer  conditions 
of  life,  that  I  hardly  ever 
see,  or  expect  to  see, 
most  of  all  these,  if  any  : 
whereon  I  pass  to  an- 
other Toppick. 

I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  my  life,  letters  and 
diaries    would  be  as  in- 
156 


Baring 

Howard 

Beadon 

Hunt,  Hy. 

Bell 

Hunt,  W.  H 

Bethell 

James 

Bruce 

Knight 

Church 

Lushington 

Clive 

Morier 

Coombe 

Nevill 

Clowes 

Penrhyn 

Cross 

Percy 

Derby 

Reid 

Drummond 

Robinson 

Edwards 

Scrivens 

Empson 

Simeon 

Evans 

Stanley 

Fortescue 

Tennyson 

Fowler 

Waldegrave 

Farquhar 

Wentworth 

San  Remo 

Francillon  Widdrington  teresting  ...  as  many 
Goldsmid       Williams  that  are  now  published  : 

Hankey         Wyatt  and    I   half  think  I   will 

Hornby  leave  all  those  papers  to 

you,  with  a  short  record 
of  the  principal  data  of  my  ridiculous  life,  which  how- 
ever has  been  a  hardworking  one,  and  also  one  that 
has  given  much  of  various  sorts  of  stuff  to  others, 
though  the  liver  has  often  had  a  sad  time  of  it.  .  .  . 

About  your  political  changes.  I  own  to  being 
disappointed  in  a  sense  that  you  are  still  where  you 
are — but,  per  contra,  that  proves  that  you  do  what 
you  do  thoroughly  well  which  nobody  seems  to  allow 
that  most  others  of  the  ministry  do.  I  had  settled 
that  K.pmberley]  I  was  to  go  as  L[or]d  L[ieutenan]t 
of  Ireland,  and  you  to  the  Colonies.  As  for  the 
L[or]d  L[ieutenanc]y  of  Essex,  I  don't  greatly  care 
for  it,  and  it  seems  to  me  only  a  compliment  from 
Gladstone].  You  ain't  by  nature  connected  with 
Essex,  as  most  Lds.  Lt.  are  with  their  counties  ;  so 
it  seems  to  me  boshy,  but  perhaps  I  am  mistaken.2 

H[enr]y  Bruce's  career  is  as  you  say,  very  singular  : 
I  am  glad  of  his  new  position^  liking  him  as  I  do  ; 
and  also  from  feeling  that  he  has  often  been  brutally 
censured  and  attacked  when  doing  his  best — for  I 
have  always  thought  the  Home  Sec[retar]y  by  far 
the  most  worrying  and  difficult  place  to  fill.  .  .  . 

1  Earl  of  Kimberley,  Irish  Viceroy  1 864-1 866,  Lord  Privy  Seal 
1868-1870,  Colonial  Secretary  1870-1874  and  1880-1882,  Lord 
President  of  the  Council  1892-1894,  and  then  Foreign  Secretary. 

2  Lady  Waldegrave  owned  the  Navestock  Estate  in  Essex, 
consequently  Fortescue  was  made  Lord  Lieutenant  by  the 
Liberal  Leader. 

3  See  p.  155. 

157 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  had  made  a  will,  leaving  this  villa  and  land  to  my 
grandniece  Emily  Gillies  I  :  but  I  am  going  to  make  a 
new  will,  though  keeping  in  substance  to  what  I  had 
before  arranged.  And  this  for  two  reasons  ;  ist.  the 
New  Zealand  lot  are  becoming — or  rather  have 
become — wealthy  and  full  of  fat  like  Jeshurun  :  and 
would  never  come  to  this  part  of  Europe.  2ndly.  I 
have  worked  so  hard  of  late  and  have  such  a  mass 
of  finished  work  that  after  my  death  it  would  cer- 
tainly fetch  above  ^1500 — i.e.  the  value  of  the 
house  and  land  when  I  came  here.  I  had  previously 
arranged  for  the  house  and  all  my  sketches  too  to  be 
sold,  but  now  I  hope  to  keep  all  my  sketches  tojfclivide 
amongst  old  friends — (you  one,)  2ndly,  to  T-aise  tin 
enough  for  my  grandniece  (as  above  stated,)  and 
other  legacies ;  and  3rdly  to  be  able  to  leave  the 
house  to  one  of  my  godchildren.  .  .  . 

Of  the  Tennyson  illustrations,  there  are  five,  all  so 
nearly  finished  as  to  want  little  in  addition. 

1.  The  crag  that  fronts  the  evening,  all  along  the 

shadowed  shore. 

2.  To  watch  the  crisping  ripples  on  the  beach,  with 

tender  curving  lines  of  creamy  spray. 

3.  Mount  Tomohr.     (See  to  E.  L.  on  his  travels  in 

Greece).2     This  is  a  large  picture  and  would 
fetch  ^500  at  least  I  think. 

4.  The  vast  Acroceraunian  walls — same  poem. 

5.  Moonlight    on    still    waters    between    walls    of 

gleaming  granite  in  a  shadowy  pass. 
And  then  there  are  also  a  large  "Athos"  and  "my 
tall  dark  pines  "  begun.  .  .  . 

1  Grand-daughter  of  Sarah,  and  married  to  Mr.  Gillies. 
3  Tennyson's  Sonnet  to  Lear  (see  vol.  i.). 

158 


San  Remo 

This  place  has  changed  wonderfully  since  I  came  : 
the  two  properties  next  me  more  particularly.  The 
Shuttleworths  below  me  is  all  let  to  Germans  for  six 
years,  a  Hotel  and  Pension  :  and  the  ground  is  all 
bescattered  with  horrid  Germen,  Gerwomen,  and 
Gerchildren.  Then,  above  me,  the  poor  Congreve 
villa  is  still  more  changed,  and  I  seldom  now  see  him 
whom  I  had  found  so  delightful  a  companion.  Nor 
do  I  see  much  more  of  his  two  nice  boys,  as  they  are 
brought  up  to  manage  all  the  country  life  affairs  of 
the  property — looking  after  the  wine — horses — etc. 
etc.  .  .  . 

As  for  the  Sanremesi,  they  are  laudable  and  admir- 
able in  this  respect  only — that  they  let  you  alone, 
unless  they  can  make  anything  out  of  you  :  and  as  they 
can't  of  me,  they  accordingly  do  leave  me  alone,  and 
I  therefore  admire  them.  The  place  is  divided  into 
two  parties — stationary — and  progressive  :  the  last  lay 
themselves  out  to  sell  land,  houses,  milk,  wood — che  so 
io — everything  to  the  "Forestieri"  and  all  are  courteous 
and  civil,  but  there  is  not  the  faintest  sign  or  shadow 
of  anybody's  caring  one  farthing  for  us  in  reality.  Nor 
am  I  speaking  as  an  Englishman  :  for  I  have  heard 
Italian  officers,  who  had  been  quartered  in  all  parts  of 
Italy,  and  who  themselves  were  from  all  parts,  agreeing 
perfectly  as  to  the  character  of  the  whole  of  the  Riviera 
Genoese.  "  They  open  their  hands  to  get  money, 
but  never  to  spend  it."  "  Two  words  are  not  in  their 
Dictionary — Generosita,  and  Ospitalita."  Any  of  these 
officers  speak  with  completely  different  tone  of  all 
other  parts  of  Italy  (as  provinces  etc)  and  this  differ- 
ence is  also  proved  by  my  own  writings  of  Calabria 
and  the  Abruzzi ;  and  it  is  notorious  here,  that  though 

159 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

there  are  very  many  rich  persons — all  live  in  the 
strictest  and  niggardliest  way,  and  regard  what  we  all 
(and  what  most  Italians  do  also,)  consider  as  common 
courtesies — refreshments — dinners — or  what  not — with 
contempt  and  disgust.  "  Nella  Riviera,  Economia 
vuol  dire  Avarizia."  x  I  have  often  heard  it  said.  You 
may  thus  judge  that  I  get  very  little  out  of  San  Remo 
by  way  of  society.   .  .  . 

Do  you  believe  in  the  Claimant  ?  2  I  do.  And  the 
indecent  bullying  of  the  lawyers  makes  one  loathe  the 
race.  Why  am  I  to  believe  that  A.  B.  and  C.  swear 
truth,  and  that  D.  E.  and  F.  are  perjured?  If  you  ask 
me  what  year  I  was  in  Ireland  with  you — 1857  or  1858 
— I  cannot  tell :  nor  whether  I  went  to  Inverary  in 
1 84 1  or  1846  :  nor  to  Sicily  the  first  time  in  1840 
or  1 84 1.  And  how  are  old  people  to  be  expected  to 
recollect  infinite  dates?  The  remarks  of  the  Bench 
are  to  me  a  positive  disgrace,  all  showing  a  foregone 
conclusion.  (Bye  the  bye,  I  can't  remember  if  it  were 
you,  or  Northbrook  who  wrote  to  me,  "  there  is 
certainly  a  great  likeness  to  A.  Seymour  about  the 
Claimant.")  I  fear  a  great  many  not  only  believe,  but 
know  that  he  is  the  real  Sir  R[oger]  who  swear  the 
contrary  :  and  one  of  the  points  to  be  remarked  is  that 
if  he  only  is  judged  to  be  a  perjurer — such  a  mauvais 
sujet,  albeit  a  R[oman]  C[atholic]  would  reflect  little 
discredit  on  Holy  R[oman]  Church.     But  if  the  con- 

1  On  the  Riviera  Economy  means  Avarice. 

2  The  Tichborne  trial,  Thomas  Castro,  alias  Arthur  Orton  of 
Wapping,  claiming  to  be  an  elder  brother  of  Sir  Alfred  Joseph 
Tichborne  (d.  1866).  His  case  having  collapsed  in  1872,  he  was 
committed  for  perjury  and  sentenced  to  fourteen  years'  hard 
labour,  1874.     I*e  confessed  the  imposture  in  1895. 

160 


San  Remo 

trary,  some  of  the  first  R.  C.  families  lose  caste,  and 
the  wound  to  the  Holy  Mother  would  be  orrid,  and 
worth  swearing  black  is  white  to  avoid  ;  since 
absolutions  are  attainable  if  you  sin  for  the  sake  of 
"  religion."  .  .  . 

Now  do  you  call  this  a  long  letter  ?  or  don't  you  ? 
I  shall  stick  double  postage  on  it,  and  fill  up  the  rest 
with  some  parodies  I  have  been  obliged  to  make, 
whereby  to  recall  the  Tennyson  lines  of  my  illustra- 
tions :  beginning  with  these  mysterious  and  beautiful 
verses, 

i.  Like  the  Wag  who  jumps  at  evening 
All  along  the  sanded  floor. 

2.  To  watch  the  tipsy  cripples  on  the  beach, 
With  topsy  turvy  signs  of  screamy  play. 

3.  Tom-Moory  Pathos  ; — all  things  bare, — 

With  such  a  turkey  !  such  a  hen ! 
And  scrambling  forms  of  distant  men, 
O ! — ain't  you  glad  you  were  not  there  ! 

4.  Delirious  Bulldogs  ; — echoing,  calls 

My  daughter, — green  as  summer  grass  : — 
The  long  supine  Plebeian  ass, 
The  nasty  crockery  boring  falls  ; — 

5.  Spoonmeat  at  Bill  Porter's  in  the  Hall, 
With  green  pomegranates,  and  no  end  of  Bass. 

I  hear  you  say — "  you  dreadful  old  ass  !  "  but  then 
my  dear  child,  if  your  friend  is  the  Author  of  the 
book  of  Nonsense,  what  can  you  expect  ?  On  the 
other  side  I  send  a  ridiculous  effusion,  which  in  some 
quarters  delighteth — on  the  Ahkond  of  Swat ; — of 
whom  one  has  read  in  the  papers,  and  some  one  wrote 

161  L 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

to  me  to  ask,  "  who  or  what  is  he  " — to  which  I  sent 
this  reply.  .  .  . 

THE  AHKOND  OF  SWAT 

i.  Why,  or  when,  or  which,  or  what 

Or  who,  or  where,  is  the  Ahkond  of  Swat, — 6h  WHAT 

Is  the  Ahkond  of  Swat  ? 


2.  Is  he  tall  or  short,  or  dark  or  fair? 

Does  he  sit  on  a  throne,  or  a  sofa,  or  chair, — or  SQUAT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


3.  Is  he  wise  or  foolish,  young  or  old  ? 

Does  he  drink  his  soup  or  his  coffee  cold — or  HOT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


4.  Does  he  sing  or  whistle,  jabber  or  talk, 

And  when  riding  abroad  does  he  gallop  or  walk, — or  TROT  ? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat  ! 


5.  Does  he  wear  a  Turban,  a  Fez,  or  a  Hat, 

Does  he  sleep  on  a  Mattrass,  a  bed,  or  a  mat, — or  a  COT  ? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


6.  When  he  writes  a  copy  in  roundhand  size 

Does  he  cross  his  T's  and  finish  his  I's —  with  a  DOT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


7.  Can  he  write  a  letter  concisely  clear, 

Without  splutter  or  speck  or  smudge  or  spear,— or  BLOT  ? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


8.  Do  his  people  like  him  extremely  well, 

Or  do  they  whenever  they  can,  rebel,— or  PLOT  ? 

At  the  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 
162 


San  Remo 

9.  If  he  catches  them  then,  both  old  and  young, 

Does  he  have  them  chopped  in  bits,  or  hung, — or  SHOT  ? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


10.  Do  his  people  prig  in  the  lanes  and  park, 

Or  even  at  times  when  days  are  dark — GAROTTE  ? 

O  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


11.  Does  he  study  the  wants  of  his  own  dominion 
Or  doesn't  he  care  for  public  opinion — a  JOT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


12.  At  night,  if  he  suddenly  screams  and  wakes, 

Do  they  bring  him  only  a  few  small  cakes, — or  a  LOT? 

For  the  Ahkond  of  Swat! 


13.  Does  he  live  upon  Turnips,  tea,  or  tripe  ?  [a  SPOT  ? 

Does  he  like  his  shawls  to  be  marked  with   a  stripe,  or 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


14.  To  amuse  his  mind,  do  his  people  shew  him 
Jugglers,  or  anyone's  last  new  poem — or  WHAT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


15.  Does  he  like  to  lie  on  his  back  in  a  boat, 

Like  the  Lady  who  lived  in  that  Isle  remote,— SHALO TT  ? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


16.  Is  he  quiet,  or  always  making  a  fuss  ? 

Is  his  steward  a  Swiss,  or  French,  or  a  Russ, — or  a  SCOT  ? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


17.  Does  he  like  to  sit  by  the  calm  blue  wave  ? 

Or  sleep  and  snore  in  a  dark  green  cave, — or  a  GROT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat  I 


18.  Does  he  drink  small  beer  from  a  silver  jug  ? 

Or  a  bowl  or  a  glass  or  a  cup  or  a  mug, — or  a  POT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 
163 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

19.  Does  he  beat  his  wife  with  a  gold-topped  pipe, 

When  she  lets  the  gooseberries  grow  too  ripe, — or  ROT  f 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


20.  Does  he  wear  a  white  tie  when  he  dines  with  friends 
And  tie  it  neat  in  a  bow  with  ends, — or  a  KNOT? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat ! 


21.  Does  he  like  new  cream  ?     Does  he  hate  veal  pies  ? 
When  he  looks  at  the  sun  does  he  wink  his  eyes  ? — or  NOT  ? 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat! 


22.  Does  he  teach  his  subjects  to  toast  and  bake  ? — 

Does  he  sail  about  in   an   Inland   Lake,  in  a   YACHT 

The  Ahkond  of  Swat! 


23.  Does  nobody  know,  or  will  no  one  declare 
Who  or  which  or  why  or  where, — or  WHAT 

Is  the  Ahkond  of  Swat? 


The  effective  way  to  read  the  Ahkond  of  Swat  is  to 
go  quickly  through  the  two  verse  lines,  and  then 
make  a  loud  and  positive  long  stretch  on  the  mono- 
syllable— hot,  trot,  etc.,  etc. 


164 


CHAPTER   V 
October,   1873,  to  May,   1876. 

INDIA,    ENGLAND,    AND    SAN    REMO. 

TOWARDS  the  end  of  1873  the  long- 
projected  visit  to  India  was  under- 
taken ;  a  visit  that  lasted  over  a  year  and 
in  the  course  of  which  Lear  saw  an  immense 
variety  of  people  and  scene,  and  put  in  a  vast 
amount  of  topographical  work.  He  seems  to 
have  written  very  few  letters,  and  some  of 
these  have  been  omitted  as  they  are  practic- 
ally only  a  record  of  places  visited  and 
possess   little   interest. 

Lear  to  Fortescue. 

Grand  Hotel  di  Genova.    Genova. 

15.  October,  1873. 

I  wrote  you  a  long  letter  from  San  Remo  on 
September  18,  but  at  that  time  I  do  not  think 
I  had  finally  decided  on  India. 

I  consider  that  to  go  to  India  for  eighteen  months 
would  be  really  my  best  course,  as  a  change  of  scene 

165 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

may  do  me  good,  and  besides,  living  as  I  do  from 
hand  to  mouth  by  my  art,  I  dare  not  throw  away 
the  many  commissions  for  paintings  and  drawings 
I  already  have  for  Indian  subjects. 

Whereon  I  sent  Giorgio  to  his  people,  and  shut 
and  sealed  and  screwed  up  all  the  Villa  Emily : 
and  doddled  about  the  Portofino  coast  some 
time.  .  .  .  And  Giorgio  comes  back  here  on  the 
2 2d.  And  on  the  24th  I  and  he  are  off  in  the 
Rubattino  &  Co.  Steamer  the  India  for  Bombay, 
where  I  trust  to  arrive  on  November  16  or  17, 
and  then  to  go  straight  to  the  N[orthbrook]s  at 
Agra.     I  have  the  kindest  letters  from  them. 


Lear  to  Lady   Waldegrave. 

Grand  Hotel  di  Genova.    Genova. 

25.  October.    1873. 

I  .  .  .  write  now  to  tell  you  of  a  sort  of  discovery 
I  fancy  I  have  made  here,  of  some  portraits  which 
may  be  interesting  to  you.  One  is  a  really  good 
portrait  of  George  III  when  young,  and  another  of 
his  brother,  I  think  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  of 
whom  Horace  Walpole  writes  that  he  died  at  Monaco, 
near  Nice.  Now  at  that  time  the  Grimaldi  were 
reigning  princes  there,  and  these  portraits  came, 
together  with  some  of  the  Grimaldi  family,  out  of 
the  house  of  a  former  British  Consul,  Sir  Somebody 
Bagshawe. 

The  Landlord  of  this  Hotel,  Signor  Luigi  Bonera 
bought  the  two  I  first  mentioned,  and  that  of  George 
III  is  a  really  good  well-painted  picture  :  the  Cumber- 
land Duke's  not  quite  so  well  painted. 

166 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

There  are  also  others — one  of  George  II,  and 
one  of  George  I,  and  of  another  Royalty,  perhaps 
Prince  Frederick  or  Duke  of  Gloucester l  who 
married  Lady  Waldegrave.  I  thought  I  would  tell 
you  these  fax,  leastways  as  you  might  tell  anybody 
else  if  so  be  you  didn't  care  for  them  yourself.     My 


ship  didn't  go  yesterday  as  it  oughted — but  goes 
tonight — straight  to  Naples — where  I  pick  up  old 
George  the  Suliot. 

1  Prince  Frederick,  or  Prince  William  Henry,  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  brothers  of  George  III. ;  the  latter  married  in 
1766  Maria,  Dowager  Countess  Waldegrave,  daughter  of  the 
Hon.  Sir  Edward  Walpole. 

167 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  am  glad  the  Akond  of  Swat  is  liked.  Goodbye. 
My  love  to  everbody. 

P.S.  The  two  Guelph  portraits  here  were  bought 
for  six  pounds  each  by  the  landlord  !  I  should  think 
the  whole  lot  wouldn't  cost  much. 


To  Fortescue. 

Darjeeling  Bengal. 
2\th.  Jan.  1874. 

Writing  long  letters  in  India  is  simply  an  impossi- 
bility, if  you  are  sight  seeing,  and  moving  about 
to  places  hundreds  of  miles  off.  So  all  I  can  do 
is  to  send  scraps  of  intelligence  to  friends,  and 
wait  for  days  of  more  leisure.  I  had  a  rather 
uncomfortable  and  long  voyage  out  to  Bombay, 
getting  there  November  23rd,  and  by  December  1st, 
joined  the  Viceregal  party  at  Lucknow.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  I  met  with  every  possible  kindness  from 
all  there.  It  was  horrid  cold,  and  I  have  never 
dared  count  my  toes  since,  being  sure  I  left  some 
behind.  Then  I  saw  all  Cawnpore,  and  Benares — 
(which  delighted  me),  and  then  I  went  to  Dinapore — 
to  try  to  get  sketches  for  Chichester's  painting  and 
drawing.     But    Johnny    Hamilton,1    I    cannot    help 

1  Nephew   of    Carlingford — son   of    his    eldest    sister    Mrs. 
Hamilton — went  through  the  Mutiny,  and  died  October  19, 1858. 

168 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

thinking,  must  have  died  at  Bankipore,  as  Dinapore 
is  simply  a  Military  station.  Howbeit  I  got  drawings 
of  the  country  quite  characteristic  of  either  place, 
and  as  I  had  a  godson's  brother  established  there 
I  was  well  off  comparatively — my  own  old  servant 
Giorgio  being  always  invaluable  as  a  constant  help 
in  all  sorts  of  ways. 

Then  I  passed  three  weeks  at  Calcutta  at  Govern- 
ment House,  but,  as  you  and  C.  may  imagine,  the 
life  was  by  no  means  to  my  taste,  seeing  I  can't 
bear  lights  nor  late  hours,  nor  sublimities.  Of  course 
Lord  N.  and  E.  Baring  and  all  the  rest  were  a 
pleasure — but  I  was  not  sorry  to  come  away,  and 
never  wish  to  see  Calcutta  again.  Besides  this  I 
was  greatly  saddened  by  the  news  of  my  dear  and 
oldest  friend's  death,  W.  Nevill,  and  also  of  the 
last  illness  of  my  dear  sister  Sarah  in  New  Zea- 
land l :  (when  my  nephew  wrote  she  was  still  living 
but  fast  sinking — aet.  81.)  Add  to  these  matters 
a  bad  accident  from  a  sketching  stool  breaking  down 
under  me — and  you  will  say  I  had  not  cause  to  be 
too  lively.  I  came  up  here — (a  nodious  and  tedious 
journey  of  7  days) — on  the  16th?  and  have  been 
fortunate  in  getting  outlines  of  the  immense  Hima- 
layan Mountains,  Kinchinjunga,  which  I  am  to  paint 
for  the  Viceroy — (it  was  his  late  uncle's  commission, 
but  he  takes  it  up),  and  for  Aberdare,  and   2  more. 

1  Sarah  Street,  whose  many  descendants  in  the  name  of 
Gillies  now  live  at  Parnell,  Auckland,  New  Zealand,  including 
Sophie  Street  of  the  first  volume,  who  recovered  and  became 
quite  as  wonderful  a  woman  as  her  mother-in-law,  and  a 
far  sweeter  one.  She  is  still  the  life  and  soul  of  the  place, 
and  beloved  by  young  and  old  (see  p.  154,  vol.  i.). 

169 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

The  foregrounds  of  ferns  are  truly  bunderful — only 
there  are  no  apes  and  no  parrots  and  no  nothing 
alive,  which  vexes  me.  I  am  able  to  walk  well, 
but  cannot  ride,  and  am  still  obliged  to  be  helped 
off  the  ground  by  old  George.  What  I  should  have 
done  here  without  the  good  Suliot  I  can't  imagine. 
I  am  now  going  to  make  for  Allahabad,  by  the  5th 
February,  and  then  to  see  Agra  and  Delhi  etc.,  before 
it  gets  'ot ;  but  whether  I  go  up  to  Simla,  or  down 
to  Bombay  straight,  or  by  Rajpoontana,  I  cannot 
as  yet  decide.  Have  you  Dr.  Hooker's  book  on  this 
part  of  India,  "  Himalayan  journals  "  ?  He  describes 
the  scenery  admirably. 

I  hope  you  are  well,  and  wish  both  you  and 
C.S.P.F.  a  happy  New  Year.     My  love  to  him. 

Please  write  some  day,  and  reply  to  me  always, 

care  of  Captain  E.  Baring,  R.A. 
Government  House, 
Calcutta. 

as  he  always  knows  where  to  find  me. 

Simla.    24.  April.  1874. 
1. 
O  !  Chichester,  my  Carlingford ! 
O  !  Parkinson,  my  Sam ! 
O  !  SP0,  my  Fortescue  ! 

How  awful  glad  I  am  ! 

2. 
For  now  you'll  do  no  more  hard  work 
Because  by  sudden  pleasing-jerk 

You're  all  at  once  a  peer, — 
Whereby  I  cry,  God  bless  the  Queen ! 
As  was,  and  is,  and  still  has  been, 

Yours  ever,  Edward  Lear. 
170 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

My  dear  "  Carlingford,"  l — Your  letter  came  last 
night  up  from  Calcutta,  and  greatly  pleased  me ;  for 
I  had  been  worrying  about  you  since  those  Louth- 
some  brutes  turned  you  out.  I  quite  think  you  have 
done  the  right  thing  in  not  trying  another  con- 
stituency :  Oxford,  however  flattering,  would  have 
entailed  no  end  of  work,  and  you  are  not  of  iron, 
(as  I  really  think  Northbrook  is,  and  had  need  be.) 

I  am  sorry  I  can't  write  much  now,  but  I  had  an 
envellope  already  written  for  you,  and  hope  to  fill  it 
up  later.  I  am  going  now  into  the  "town"  to  order 
coolies  for  a  tour  to-morrow  to  Narkunday  where  are 
the  great  Deodaras,  four  days  from  here,  trusting  to 
be  back  here  on  the  4th.  of  May,  and  to  start  for 
Bombay  and  Poonah  on  the  6th.  I  hope  I  may  live 
through  the  blazing  hot  journey  and  get  to  Bombay 
before  the  12th,  when  my  sixty-tooth  year  ends,  and  I 
shall  be  "going  on  63"  Since  I  wrote  from  Darjeel- 
ing  to  My  Lady,  I  have  been  all  up  the  Ganges  to 
Allahabad,  then  to  Agra,  Gwalior,  Bhurtpoor,  Muttra, 
Brindabund,  and  Delhi,  where  I  stayed  ten  days  a 
making  Delhineations  of  the  Dehlicate  architecture  as 
is  all  impressed  on  my  mind  as  inDehlibly  as  the 
Dehliterious  quality  of  the  water  of  that  city.  Then  I 
went  up  to  Saharanpore  and  Mussoorie,  and  Dehra, 
and  Roorkee,  and  the  great  Ganges  Canal  to 
Hurdwur,  where  there  is  a  Nindoo  festival  on  the  first 
week  in  April,  whereat  on  jubilee  years  three  millions 
of  pilgrims  are  found.  (There  are  but  200,000  this 
year — quite   enough.)      All   these    devout   and   dirty 

1  Chichester  Fortescue,  who  had  been  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  from  1870,  was  created  1st  Baron  Carlingford  in  1874. 
He  had  lost  his  seat  for  co.  Louth  in  the  '74  election. 

171 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

people  carry  out  their  theory  of  attendance  on 
Public  Wash-up  on  a  great  scale, — by  flumping 
simultaneous  into  the  Holy  Gunga  at  sunrise  on 
April  ii — squash.  Next  I  came  up  here,  where 
N[orthbrook]  has  most  kindly  lent  me  a  house  and 
servants  all  for  myself  and  old  George.  I  hate  being 
such  a  swell,  but  what  is  one  among  so  many? 
whereas  you  and  Hy.  Bruce  and  N.  are  all  piers  of 
the  Rem,  and  I  am  still  a  dirty  Lampskipper.  .  .  . 
My  kindest  remembrances  (and  congratulations)  to 
My-lady. 

POONA, 

June  \2th,  1874. 

My  dear  Fortescue, — At  present  I  have  come 
(very  unwillingly,)  to  an  anchor  for  a  period  unknown 
— because  all  the  world  says  it  is  impossible  to  travel 
in  the  "  Rains." 

Yesterday  I  got  some  tin  cases  made,  and  soldered 
up  no  less  than  560  drawings,  large  and  small  besides 
9  small  sketchbooks  and  4  of  journals.  .  .  . 

My  impression  of  all  I  have  seen  N.  and  E.  of  the 
Ganges  and  Jumna  is  that  the  most  delectable  portion 
of  the  Landscape  is  that  combining  old  Indian 
Temples  and  rivers.  Nevertheless  my  500  drawings 
in  Bengal,  N.  W.  Provinces,  and  Punjaub,  form  a 
vastly  interesting  mass  of  work  and  express  Indian 
Landscape  in  those  parts  of  the  huge  Empire — I 
think — as  widely  and  fairly  as  a  6  months  tour  could 
well  be  expected  to  compass.  .  .  . 

I  am  going  about  my  work  with  a  method,  and 
anyhow  you  and  Milady  will  allow  I  am  a  very 
energetic  and  frisky  old  cove — (I  was  62  last 
May  12,)  for  my  age.  .  .  . 

172 


India,   England,  and  San   Remo 

In  travelling  in  India,  you  have  three  modes  open 
to  you — Dawk  Bungalows — Hotels — and  Private 
Hospitality.  The  first  is  what  I  by  far  prefer.  .  .  . 
The  second  mode  of  travel,  Hotel  halts  is  in  19  cases 
out  of  20  odious  and  irritating,  indeed  I  can  only  name 
3  or  4  good  Hotels  as  yet  visited,  out  of  dozens.  .  .  . 
Thirdly  you  may  have  letters  to  people  at  stations, 
and  if  so,  you  will  in  almost  all  cases  be  received  with 
the  greatest  kindness.  Yet  you  cannot  be  master 
of  your  time  in  a  private  house  as  you  are  in  a 
D.  Bungalow.  You  certainly  may  say  to  the  Lady  of 
the  house,  "  Maam,  I  want  tea  at  5 — a  cold  luncheon 
and  wine  to  take  out  with  me,  and  dinner  precisely  at 
7,  after  which  I  shall  go  to  bed  and  shan't  speak  to 
you."  But  such  a  proceeding  is  repugnant  to  my  way 
of  thinking — and  the  result  of  my  experience  is 
that  you  cant  do  as  you  like  in  other  people's 
dwellings 

Travelling  in  India  is,  as  I  dare  say  you  know, 
very  expensive — mainly  on  account  of  the  immense 
distances  you  have  to  get  over,  and  the  necessity  of 
moving  with  no  end  of  luggage.  But  Northbrook 
with  his  usual  kindness  supplies  me  with  tin,  advancing 
what  I  want  on  acct.  of  his  own  and  the  late  Mr.  T. 
Baring's  commissions.  Otherwise  I  must  have  asked 
you  and  others  to  keep  me  afloat — but  there  is  no 
occasion  for  this  at  all.  .  .  . 

All  the  Bombay  world  rushes  here  at  this  season, 
when  Bombay  itself  becomes  mouldy  and  wet,  and 
Mahabuleshwar  and  Matheran  are  uninhabitable. 
(Matheran  by  the  bye,  has  most  probably  been  the 
original  Eden — I  don't  mean  the  first  Lord  Auck- 
land,— but    Paradise — at   least   the    scriptural  scanti- 

173 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

ness   of  the  apparel  worn  by   the  natives  seems   to 
point  to  Adam  and   Eve  as  its  originators.) 

It  might  be  well  that  you  should  make  some  public 
suggestion  that  so  economical  and  picturesque  an 
apparel  may  be  brought  into  general 
use  in  England.  To  assist  you  in 
so  praiseworthy  a  departure  from 
modern  habits,  I  add  2  portraits,  to 
which  you  can  refer  ad  lib.  .  .   . 

But  to  return  to  Poonah  and  plati- 
tudes and  plateau.  The  Governor 
Sir  P.  Wodehouse,  is  a  very  amiable 
and  kind  gentleman,  (he  recollected 
having  met  me  at  Lady  Wilmot  Hor- 
ton's  500  years  ago),  but  I  see  the 
Bombay  papers  continually  talk  of  his  being  recalled 
on  account  of  the  Bombay  Riots — paragraphs  which 
may  have  weight  where  it  is  not  so  well  known  as  in 
the  Presidency,  that  the  Editors  of  Bombay  papers  are 
mostly  Parsees.  It  may  however  very  well  be  that 
Sir  P.  W.  has  not  the  tact  and  strong  will  of  our 
friend  N.  whose  statesmanlike  qualities  seem  acknow- 
ledged as  much  by  those  who  differ  from  him  in 
opinion  as  by  his  friends.  He  writes  to  me  from 
Calcutta  that  he  is  quite  well  and  so  does  Evelyn 
Baring. 

While  I  write  Lee  Warner  the  Governor's  Secre- 
tary has  come,  and  I  am  to  go  out  to  breakfast  at  Sir 
Philip's  to-morrow.  His  staff  seems  a  nice  lot — Col. 
Deane  (Mil.  Sec.)  who  married  a  Miss  Boscawen 
sister  of  Mrs.  Lewis  Bagot ;  Captain  Fawkes — grand- 
nephew  of  my  oldest  friend  Mrs.  Wentworth  and 
grandson  of  Turner  Walter  Fawkes  of  Farnley — with 

174 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

one  Captn.  Jervoise,  whose  father  I  knew  ages  ago. 
Lady  Howard  de  Walden  cum  a  son  and  daughter 
were  staying  with  them  when  I  was  at  Mahabuleshwar. 

Lear  returned  home  rather  suddenly,  with- 
out his  old  servant  George,  who  had  had  to 
go  to  Corfu  in  consequence  of  his  wife's 
death.  He  (Lear)  found  his  villa  in  the 
utmost  confusion,  for  during  the  winter 
burglars  had  taken  advantage  of  his  absence 
to  ransack  the  place.  He  writes  in  great 
depression  on  the  28th  of  March,   1875. 

Villa  Emily.  San  Remo. 
Yes,  I  did  return  from  India  some  two  months 
sooner  than  I  had  intended.  George  had  got  quite 
strong  again,  but  I  hurt  myself  in  getting  into  a  boat 
in  Travancore,  and  lumbago  followed  the  sprain  so 
disagreeably  and  persistently,  that  I  could  not  stoop 
or  bear  any  sudden  movement, — whereby  I  had  to 
pass  Mangalore,  Carwar,  and  Goa  without  landing 
and  had  even  to  give  up  Elephanta,  and  come  straight 
off  from  Bombay  on  January  12,  arriving, — a  wonder- 
fully fine  passage, — at  Brindisi  on  the  27th !  It  is 
very  provoking  not  to  have  seen  twenty-five  or 
twenty-six  things  I  particularly  desired  to  visit,  yet 
even  had  I  been  well  I  could  not  have  done  all  those 
before  April,  and  so  if  they  are  to  be  done  at  all  with 
a  view  to  a  perfect  collection  of  Indian  scenery,  I 
should  have  to  go  out  again,  say  at  the  end  of  1876, 
but  of  that  matter  there  is  plenty  of  time  to 
think.  .  .  . 

i75 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  did  not  enjoy  Ceylon  :  the  climate  is  damp  which 
I  hate :  it  is  always  more  or  less  wet,  and  though  the 
vegetation  is  lovely,  yet  it  is  not  more  so  than  that 
of  Malabar,  where  the  general  scenery  is  finer. 
Ceylon  makes  people  who  arrive  there  from  England, 
scream ;  but  then  I  didn't  come  from  England,  and  so 
was  not  astonished  at  all,  nor  did  I  find  any  interest 
in  the  place  as  compared  with  India.  Governor 
Gregory  l  was  very  kind,  but  owing  to  George's 
dreadful  illness  2  I  had  to  be  mostly — at  times  wholly 
— attending  on  that  poor  fellow.  One  of  the  persons 
I  liked  most  was  Birch, 3  formerly  your  private  sec- 
retary :  it  was  pleasant  to  hear  how  he  spoke 
of  you.  .  .  . 

After  Poonah,  the  memories  of  which  are  among 
the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  I  have,  I  went  to 
Hyderabad  in  the  Deccan,  taken  by  my  old  friend, 
H.E.P.  Le  Mesurier, — one  of  the  same  party  in  the 
Indus  (1854)  with  Johnny  Hamilton,4 — and  oddly 
enough  I  came  with  him  as  far  as  Brindisi,  nay 
Bologna — on  my  return  to  Europe  in  January  last. 
Hyderabad  and  the  Nizam  were  of  great  interest,  and 
the  scenery  singularly  novel.     Next  I  went  to  Bellary 

1  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  William  Henry  Gregory,  K.C.M.G.,  Governor 
of  Ceylon  from  1872  to  1877.  He  had  been  M.P.  for  Dublin 
City  from  1842  to  1846,  and  for  co.  Galway  from  1857  to  1872. 

2  Dysentery. 

3  Sir  Arthur  Birch,  C.M.G.  1876,  K.C.M.G.  1886,  Private 
Secretary  to  Colonial  Under  Secretary  (Fortescue)  1859-1864, 
Lieut. -Governor  of  Penang  1871-1872,  Lieut.-Governor  of 
Ceylon  1876-1878,  etc. 

4  John  Hamilton,  a  nephew  of  Lord  Carlingford,  son  of  his 
eldest  sister  ;  he  was  in  the  thick  of  the  Indian  Mutiny,  and 
died  on  October  19,  1858. 

176 


India,   England,  and  San  Remo 

intending  to  see  Anagoonda,  the  grandest  of  all 
Hindoo  ruins,  but  the  rains  prevented  me,  whereon  I 
went  to  Bangalore,  meaning  to  visit  Mysore  thence, 
Coorg,  and  the  Malabar  coast. 

Perpetual  rain  however  stopped  that  plan,  and  I 
harked  back  to  Madras,  where  I  saw  the  delightful 
Mahabalipuran  temples,  and  later  those  of  Conjeveram. 
And  returning  a  second  time  to  Bangalore,  I  was 
again  forced  to  a  change  of  tour  by  the  same  cause, 
— and  thus  I  came  down  again  and  saw  Trichinopoly 
and  Tanjore,  and  I  may  truly  say  that  whoever  visits 
India  without  seeing  these  wonderful  places,  cannot 
judge  of  the  country  from  some  very  important  stand- 
points, since  nothing  in  Northern  India  at  all 
resembles  the  Southern  buildings — Madura,  Ramesh- 
war,  Tirupetty  and  one  more  great  temple,  were  alas  ! 
left  unvisited,  and  go  to  form  a  miserable  heap 
of  repentance  along  with  Anagoonda,  Beejapore, 
Naguit,  Ellora,  Aboo  etc,  etc.  (Have  you  ever  read 
"  Tara,"  a  novel  by  Meadows  Taylor  ?  That  delightful 
book  gives  a  perfect  idea  of  Deccan  and  Mahratta 
people  and  places.)  On  going  a  third  time  to 
Bangalore,  broken  bridges,  Tanx,  and  banx,  obliged 
me  to  give  up  my  Mysore  aspirations  altogether,  and 
as  it  has  turned  out — finally :  and  I  went  up,  after 
coming  down  to  the  plains,  to  Coonoor  and  Ostara- 
mund  in  the  Neilgherries.  The  scenery  of  them  ere 
411s  is  very  grand,  i.e.  on  the  edges :  but  the  centre  is 
like  a  bad  sham  Cumberland,  and  I  loathed  the  fogs 
and  cold.  My  next  step  was  to  the  Malabar  coast, 
which  greatly  delighted  me,  as  till  I  saw  that  part  of 
the  world  I  had  no  clear  idea  of  tropical  vegetation. 
It  was  hot  though !    But  I  got  some  capital  remem- 

177  M 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

brances  of  the  grand  river  scenery.  Then  by  sea  I 
went  along  the  Coast  to  Colombo,  and  to  Galle  to 
see  Lord  N[orthbrook]'s  two  children ;  and  to  Ratna- 
poora,  where  a  son  of  my  dear  old  friend  W.  Nevill  is 
the  magistrate  ;  but  after  that,  and  while  at  Kandy, 
poor  George's  dysentery  made  everything  else  a  blank, 
and  when  he  grew  better,  an  event  little  to  be  ex- 
pected at  one  time,  I  got  him  away  on  December  12, 
the  very  day — but  happily  unknown  to  him,  when  his 
poor  wife  died  at  Corfu.  As  soon  as  George  got 
quite  well  again,  I  set  out  for  Travancore  and  Madura, 
intending  to  work  my  way  up  by  degrees  to  Ana- 
goonda  and  Beijapore ;  but  as  I  wrote  before,  I 
sprained  my  back,  and  had  to  return  to  Bombay  on 
January  3rd.  1875,  and  so  much  for  my  Indian  history. 

"  Shadows  of  three  dead  men  "  I — (I  have  had  the 
lines  a  very  long  time  but  was  requested  not  to  com- 
municate them,  tho'  it  seems  they  are  known  now) — 
refer  to  1st.  A.  Hallam,  2nd.  Harry  Lushington  (my 
friend  Franklin  L[ushington]'s  brother,)  and  John 
Simeon. 

1  .  .  .  Have  you  seen  or  heard  of  Tennyson's  lines  on  poor 
dear  John  Simeon,  aIn  the  garden  at  Swainston,"  in  one  of  the 
little  volumes  ofc  his  new  edition  ? 

"Shadows  of  three  dead  men 
Walked  in  the  walks  with  me, 
Shadows  of  three  dead  men, 
And  thou  wast  one  of  the  three  .  .  . 


Three  dead  men  have  I  loved, 
And  thou  wast  one  of  the  three." 

One  of  the  three  must  be  Arthur  Hallam,  but  who  was  the 
third  ? 

(Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear.    November  16,  1894). 
178 


India,   England,  and  San  Remo 

How  do  you  like  being  a  Peer  ?     Do  you  wear  a 
crownet  on  your  'ed  ?  .  .  . 

Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Colonel  Pattle,  I  fancy 
Lady  Somer's  brother  or  cousin.  Indian  life  is  full 
of  stories  of  his  exaggerations,  and  they  call  him  Joot 
Singh — the  King  of  Liars.  Someone  at  a  dinner  was 
saying  that  on  coming  from  America  the  ship's 
company  saw  a  man  on  a  hencoop,  floating  ;  and 
putting  off  a  boat  offered  to  take  the  individual  in. 
"  No,"  said  he,  "I  am  simply  crossing  the  Atlantic  by 
way  of  experiment,  and  all  I  would  ask  is  a  box  of 
lucifer  matches,  mine  having  got  wet."  Everyone 
yelled  at  this  American's  story,  and  said  what  a  fib! 
But  Colonel  Pattle  waxing  angry — said  :  "  It  is  no  fib 
— but  truth  :  I  was  the  man  on  the  hencoop."  .  .  . 
And  .  .  .  when  someone  said  Pease  couldn't  be  grown 
at  such  a  part  of  India — "  On  the  contrary — I  grew 
Pease  of  such  size  and  robustness  that  a  whole  herd 
of  the  Government  elephants  which  were  lost  for 
three  weeks — were  found  concealed  in  my  Peas  ! "  .  .  . 

P.S.  There  is  so  much  vegetable  luxuriance  in 
Ceylon,  that  even  the  marrow  in  peoples'  bones  is 
Vegetable  marrow.     My ! 

You  cannot  do  better  than  have  a  drawing  of 
Kinchinjunga,  but  as  only  6  of  my  36  subjects  are 
as  yet  chosen,  or  at  most  7 — you  shall  choose  from 
the  bill  of  fare — and  as  I  shall  bring  over  nearly  all 
in  a  very  unfinished  state  you  can  select  which  you 
like  best,  and  I  will  finish  it  for  you. 

1.  Marble  rocks.     Nerbudda  Jubbulpore. 

2.  Ditto.      Different  view.     Finished. 

3.  Benares.     Lord  Aberdare. 

179 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


4- 

5- 
6. 

7. 
8. 

9- 
10. 
11. 
12. 

i3- 
14. 

16. 

17- 

18. 
19. 


20. 
21. 

22. 

23- 
24. 

25- 
26. 

27. 

28. 

29. 

30. 

31- 


Benares.     Bernard  Husey-Hunt,  Esq. 

Benares.     Finished. 

Village  scenery,  Calcutta. 

Kinchinjunga.     Bernard  Husey-Hunt,  Esq. 

Kinchinjunga. 

Kinchinjunga.     Lord  Carllingford. 

Descent  from  Darjeelingplains. 

Taj.     Agra. 

Fort.     Agra. 

Gwalior. 

Brindaband. 

Togluckabad — Delhi. 

Bamboos  and  Himalaya. 

Hurdwar    ( — perhaps    for 

Colonel  Greathed,  R.E.) 
Himalaya — Simla. 
Himalaya,  Simla,  from  Sir 

C.  Napier's  house.  Lady 

Aberdare. 
Himalaya  —  near      Nar- 

kunda. 
Matheran.     (cum   scantily 

cloathed  women.) 


you   will 
I  made 


Wai. 
Poonah. 

Hyderabad  (Deccan). 
Mahabalipur  Temple. 
Trichinopoly. 
Elephants. 
Tanjore  Pagoda. 

View    near    Conoor — Nilgherries 
Road  scene,  Malabar. 
Sunset,  Malabar  coast. 

180 


Perhaps 
like  No.  21 
my  first  essay  at 
showing  those  scan- 
tily clothed  females 
to  three  ladies  with 
fear  and  trembling. 
All  three  looked  in 
demure  silence  till 
one  said,  "  What 
very  odd  costume  !  " 
— Then  the  second 
exclaimed,  "  Rather, 
no  costume,  I  think!" 
and  the  third  added, 
"  Ah  !  I  always  heard 
the  naked  people  with 
brown  skins  were  not 
at  all  indelicate ! "  So 
I  have  now  no  farther 
dread  of  the  subject. 


«      * 


1  --^■JS*sjl     ZJU 


•••  • 


§   I 

W       O       Q 


W      O.  .5? 

SI     4 

S        "a 


.  «         c 


*   <-«  , 


India,   England,  and  San  Remo 

32.  River  scene,  Ceylon. 

33.  River  scene — Ceylon. 

34.  Kandy.     S.  W.  Clowes,  Esq.,  M.P. 

35.  The    Temple    of    the   Tooth,    Kandy.      S.    W. 

Clowes,  Esq.,  M.P. 

36.  Road  Scene  near  Galle,  Ceylon. 

(This  last  is  upright  and  would  not  pair.) 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

opth  May,  1875. 

This  is  a  nextra  gnoat — along  of  a  nun4seen  stir- 
cumsance. 


There  is  a  Capting  Ruxton  here,  with  his  wife  as  is 
conphined  with  a  babby,  and  they  have  taken  a  willow 

181 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

for  2  months.  Now  if  so  be  as  Captain  Ruxton  was 
your  cousin  or  your  uncle  or  your  grandfather  or 
grandchild,  I  should  be  sorry  not  to  do  anything  that 
might  be  done  for  him  for  your  saik. 

But  if  he  ain't  your  beloved  relation  or  friend,  then 
don't  tell  me  to  call  on  him,  for  he  lives  two  miles  good 
away,  and  thyme  is  short. 


On  the  other  ^ja^Sg|p-  >  if  you  write  and  wish 

me  to  call  on  him,  I  will  do  so  drekkly. 

I  hope  to  be  in  London  about  the  15th  Joon, — but 
don't  know  where  yet. 

The  Ruxton's  name  is  something  (John  ?)  Fitz- 
herbert  Ruxton. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

2$th  May,  1875. 

I  shall  answer  your  letter  at  once,  which  it  is  a  par- 
ticularly kind  one  :  the  only  ozbervation  I  shall  permit 
myself  about  its  appearance,  is  that  your  Lordship's 
writing  gets  more  of  the  curly-burly  roly-poly  nature 
than  is  consistent  with  elegant  and  legible  gramma- 
tography.  "  I  continue  to  receive "  —  as  Royal 
speeches  say — fresh  instances  of  bother  and  vexation  ; 
the  two  particularly  uppermost  now  are  the  death  of 
my  dear  little  Goddaughter  Lushington,  and  the 
increasing  illness  of  that  nearly-angel  woman  Emily 
Tennyson.  I  suppose  it  was  to  be  expected  that  life 
would  be  more  and  more  disagreeable  towards  its 
close,  but  that  don't  make  the  fact  any  nicer.  .  .  . 

I  forgot  you  were  a  Ld.  Lieutenant  of  Essex  :  does 
not  that  involve  some  particular  dress  ?      I   declare  I 

182 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

don't  know  a  bit  what  a  Ld.  Lieutenant  does  or  is — 
a  sort  of  prefect  perhaps.  Can  you  put  down  the 
Athanasian  Creed  in  Essex  ?  ...  If  this  reaches 
you  before  your  Literary  Fund  dinner,  tell  everybody 
to  go  and  buy  a  copy  of  the  Book  of  Nonsense  and  one 
of  "  Corsica,"  or  you  will  refuse  to  preside  over  them 
any  more.  .  .  . 

I  have  heard  of  that  Vernon  fibber  ;  Lady  Hatherton 
told  me  he  declared  he  had  seen  two  cherubim  on  Mt. 
Ararat,  and  that  he  fired  at  them  :  one  flew  away  with 
a  buzzing  sound  and  an  inestimable  perfume, — the 
other  was  wounded  in  the  wing.  The  sportsman  took 
him  home  and  kept  him  alive  for  six  weeks  on  milk 
and  eggs, — but  just  as  he  was  getting  strong,  a  cat  ate 
him  up. 

About  my  dear  Viceroy  : — do  you  think  his  mistake 
— if  he  made  one — was  in  allowing  the  trial, — or  in  the 
deposition  ?  *  I  see  that  Grant  Duff  (as  well  as  Fitz- 
stephen)  believe  that  Northbrook  was  right.  After  all 
a  5  years  vice-royalty  of  India  can  rarely  if  ever  be  got 
over  without  some  error.  (I  hear  that  the  Bombay 
press  is  bought  out  and  out  by  the  beastly  Guicwar). 
No  doubt  N.  has  been  greatly  bothered  and  bullied  by 
all  this  fuss — but  for  my  own  part  I  cannot  see  what 
he  could  have  done,  three  such  men  as  Crouch,  Meade 
and  Melville  having  concurred  in  believing  Mulharkao 
guilty, — and  even  two  of  the  three  natives  holding  him 

1  A  Royal  Commission  was  appointed  in  1875  of  three  English 
and  three  native  officials  to  inquire  into  the  Baroda  affair.  The 
Gaikwar  Mulharkao  was  suspected  of  attempting  to  poison  the 
British  Resident,  Col.  Phayre.  Lord  Northbrook  issued  a  Pro- 
clamation, under  orders  from  the  Home  Government,  deposing 
Mulharkao,  and  the  wording  of  this  Proclamation  was  much 
criticised. 

183 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

more  or  less  so.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  V[iceroy] 
was  in  the  position  of  one  having  a  casting  vote,  and 
he  could  only  use  it  as  he  did.  .  .  . 

I  am  reading  a  book  on  India  by  one  Mrs.  Colin 
Mackenzie — a  werry  religious  female.  Whenever  any 
of  her  Mussulman  or  Hindoo  friends  die, — be  they 
never  so  good, — she  " shudders"  to  think  of  them 
"  opening  their  eyes  in  the  eternal  pangs  and  tortures 
of  hell  fire.  " 

26th  Sept.  1875. 

VlCKERIDGE. 

RlVERHEAD. 

7  OAX. 

This  is  only  a  wurbl  message  as  it  is  to  say  goodbye 
to  you  and  my  lady,  which  I  wish  you  both  a  appy 


Xmas.      I  have  been  very  unwell  lately — the  damp 
having   brought   on   Assma   odiously.      However,    I 

184 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

have  got  pretty  nearly  clean  off,  and  am  staying  with 
the  F.  Lushington's  on  my  way  to  "3><w£rov."  !  If  the 
sea  is  very  rough  I  mean  to  hire  a  prudent  and  pussil- 
lanimous  porpoise,  and  cross  on  his  bak.  I  suppose  I 
shall  get  to  San  Remo  early  in  October,  old  George 
having  already  arrived  there  to  clean  up  and  beautify 
the  wilier. 

^^j/(     ^^5     /&0J(tiSL->    /<P?J- 


M  Now  the  Lord  lighten  me — I  am  a  great  fool  " — 
but  I  must  go  my  own  way  or  none.  Yours  of  the 
28th  has  come  to  me — sent  down  by  Frank  Lushing- 
ton  with  a  bundle  of  other  letters,  which  I  wishes  as 
you  were  here  to  thank  you  for  it,  being  as  letters  is 
1  grateful  and  comforting,'  vide  M  Epps'  Cocoa."  You 
always  do  a  pleasant  thing  whenever  you  can,  but  it 
isn't  so  easy  to  be  ordinarily  friendly  when  lines  diverge 
as  ours  do,  so  the  more  your  merit.  As  for  Seven- 
oaks,  though  I  was  truly  serene  and  happy  with  my 
dear  Lushington's  family  and  the  children  (for  though 
my  dear  little  goddaughter  is  dead,  there  are  still  three 
living)  yet  the  "turf"  and  the  "  fresh  air  "  (through 
open  windows)  brought  on  asthma  hideously,  and  I 
found  myself  a  bore — spite  of  all  their  kindness — 
because  I  had  to  beg  for  shut  windows,  or  else  I 
coughed  like  unto  a  coughy  mill.     Whereby  and  so 

1  The  transliteration  of  Folkestone. 

185 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

and  therefore  I  gradually  felt — this  of  1875  will  be  (if 
not  my  last)  nearly  my  last  visit  to  the  land  of  my 
posteriors. 

O  yes, — old  Giorgio  was  not  only  here  when  I 
arrived  (Sat.  3rd) — but  nothing  would  prevent  him 
going  to  San  Remo  to  get  me  dinner, — and  since  then 
all  things  go  on  as  before  the  fathers  fell  asleep, — 
clockwork  being  nothing  beside  the  ancient  Suliot's 
quiet  service.  I  do  not  know  if  I  told  you  that  this 
good  old  servant  has  lost  his  wife,  and  the  last  of  his 
four  brothers,  and  his  valuable  mother, — all  since 
Christmas  last ;  and  his  three  children,  having  no  one 
to  take  care  of  them,  were  in  a  fix.  So  I  gave  him 
leave  to  bring  his  second  boy  here  as  a  help,  on  the 
"  do  as  you  would  be  done  by "  principle :  he  is  to 
have  no  wages,  but  only  food.  I  thought  this  much 
due  to  my  poor  faithful  Giorgio,  but  I  do  not  pledge 
myself  to  any  continuance  of  this  plan.  .  .  . 

(John  A.  Symonds  l  and  you  should  get  on  well 
together.) 

(Do  you  remember  how  we  used 
to  do  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  in  Greek  in  the  parlour 
at  Red  House,— till  at  a  given  hour,  dear  old  Mrs. 
Ruxton  used  to  call  for  "  God  save  the  Queen,  "  and 
we  all  absquatulated  ?  Only  the  two  calves,  I  believe, 
never  went  to  bed  at  any  particular  hour.) 

"  O  earth  !     O  (what  ?)    O  time ! " — certainly  life  is 
life? 
an  odd  jumble.     (Possibly  one  of  the  oddest  of  small 
matters  is  that  E.  Trelawny,2  (who  with  Byron  burnt 

1  See  p.  89. 

2  Edward  John  Trelawny  belonged  to  a  famous   Cornish 
family,  and  led  a  life  of  adventure.     In  182 1  he  met  Shelley  at 

186 


1  > 


• 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

Shelley's  remains)  is  still  alive  and  well.  I  just  missed 
him  fifteen  days  ago  at  Digby  Wyatt's.) 

You  will  be  very  sorry  to  hear  what  I  am  going  to 
say — or  rather,  read  what  I  am  going  to  write, — viz, 
that  the  Rev.  Fenton,  our  chaplain,  (as  good  a  man 
and  as  complete  an  ass  as  any  parson  can  be,  and  that 
is  saying  much)  preached  today  about  Daniel,  (I 
rejoice  I  wasn't  there),  and  has  given  out  that  he 
will  preach  three  sermons  severally  on  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abednego.  Could  I  have  warned  you 
in  time,  doubtless  you  and  my  lady  would  have  come 
to  this  spirichial  feest.  Alas  !  alas !  going  to  church  is 
my  bite  noir.  I  don't  want  to  antagonise,  or  bore,  or 
fuss — but  why  am  I  expected  to  sit  and  listen  to  a 
fool  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour?  Perhaps  it  is 
better  that  I  should  altogether  stay  away,  since  one 
day,  if  I  am  so  overconstrained  to  folly,  I  may  get  up 
and  snort  and  dance  and  fling  my  hat  at  the  abomina- 
tion of  sermonpreaching  where  sermons  are  simply  rot. 

There  will  be  no  one  here  this  winter  I  care  for — 
nobody.  En  revanche,  I  go  into  HARD  WORK — 
Louisa  Lady  A[shburton's]  1  and  Lord  Aberdare's  two 
paintings  of  Kunchinjunga,  one  9  ft.  by  4 — the  latter 
6  ft.  by  3  ft.  6  in, — both  immortal  subjects.  If  Henry 
Bruce's  picture  comes  to  be  at  all  what  I  shall  try  for, 
nobody  will  ever  eat  anything  at  his  table — along  of 
contemplating  it ;  and  if  L.  Lady  A's  picture  thrives 
equally,  then  I  foresee  no  English  child  will  ever  be 
henceforth  christened  otherwise  than  "  Kunchinjunga." 

Pisa  and  was  there  at  his  death.    He  went  with  Byron  to  Greece, 
and  finally  settled  in  England.     He  wrote  M  Recollections  of  the 
Last  Days  of  Shelley  and  Byron"  (1858),  and  died  in  1881. 
1  See  note,  p.  88. 

187 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

What  Northbrook's  picture  will  be,  goodness  only 
knows, — but  I  am  continually  at  work  on  it.  My  dear 
N. — how  I  wish  he  were  back  in  Hants — ,  and  yet  not 
so,  for  he  is  so  high  and  good  in  all  he  does  in  India, 
that  sometimes  I  half  hope  he  may  stay  on. 

I  wonder  how  much  you  know  of  India:  and,  if  you 
had  time,  please  try  to  read  some  of  Col.  Meadows 
Taylor's  semi-historic  novels, — all  of  them  remarkable, 
not  only  for  great  knowledge  of  India  and  Indians 
(that  was  to  be  expected  from  his  position  and 
experience  as  well  as  from  his  marriage  etc :)  but 
for  beautiful  and  good  feeling  and  clever  handling 
throughout — though  of  course  the  books  are  not 
equal,  (i)  "Tara,"  1657,  (2)  "  Ralph  Darnell,"  1759, 
(3)  "Tippoo  Sultaun  1787  "  and  (4)  "  Leeta,"  1857, 
are  all  well  worth  perusal — not  to  speak  of 
"  Confessions  of  a  Thug."  But  after  all,  I  can 
now  well  understand  how  very  little  an  Englishman 
can  enter  into  Indian  (picturesque)  subjects,  and  I 
wondered  at  Grant  Duff1  doing  so  till  I  heard 
that  the  "History  of  the  Mahrattas"  was  written 
by  his  father. 

0  my  child!  here  is  a  gnat!  which,  the  window 
being  open,  is  but  gnatural.  So  I  shuts  up  both 
vinder  and  letter,  and  goodbye. 

P.S  A  chapter — the  last  of  its  sort — of  my  life, 
is  nearly  closed ;  i.e.  the  letters  of  my  sister  Ellinor.2 
She  is  now  nearly  blind,  and  can  never  write  again. 

1  Sir  Mountstuart  Elphinstone  Grant  Duff,  son  of  James 
Cunninghame  Grant  Duff,  and  grandson  of  Sir  Whitelaw 
Ainslie.  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  India  1 868-1 874.  Governor 
of  Madras  1881-1886,  when  he  was  made  a  G.C.S.I. 

2  See  p.  47. 

188 


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India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

Not  that  her  letters  were  ever  intellectually  like 
those  of  my  dear  New  Zealand  sister  Sarah,  nor 
those  of  my  own  eldest  sister  Ann — but  they  were 
the  last :  and  so  the  only  one  remaining  of  all  my 
thirteen  sisters  gradually  sinks  to  darkness,  as  I 
may  do  probably  six  or  eight  years  hence. 

No  creature  here  is  likely  to  interest  me  this  year. 
At  63 — (and  speaking  as  a  man  who  never  cared 
for  mere  acquaintances),  one  hardly  picks  up  friends. 
Last  year  the  G.  Howards1  were  here, — he  is 
very  artistically  studious, — yet  not  exhibiting  any- 
thing like  genius  or  promising  any.  Amiable  and 
good,  but  it  seems  to  me  an  unwise  affectation  for 
people  in  that  position  to  wish  to  be  " artists"; 
whereas,  if  all  goes  straight,  this  youth  must  needs 
be  Earl  of  Carlisle.  Earls  in  England  have 
occupations  cut  out  for  them  quite  distinct  from 
those  of  laborious  professions,  in  the  ranks  of  which 
(however  they  and  their  admirers  may  think  other- 
wise) they  are  only  considered  as  of  "Brevet  rank" 
by  the  real  article.  (  Vide  "  Unbublished  ozbervations 
on  Caste.") 

I  have  been  reading  "Lothair"2  lately:  how 
skilful  and  quaint  a  book!  and  full  of  charming 
description.  Also,  "  II  Improvisatore,"  3 — did  you 
ever  read  it?     Hans  Andersen  lived  for  a  time  in 

1  George  J.  Howard,  son  of  the  4th  son  of  the  6th  Earl  of 
Carlisle  (the  Hon.  Chas.  Wentworth  Howard,  M.P.).  Lear  was 
right,  George  Howard  eventually  succeeded  his  uncle  in  1889 
as  9th  Earl  of  Carlisle.  His  wife  the  Hon.  Rosalind  Frances 
Stanley,  youngest  daughter  of  Lord  Stanley  of  Alderley. 

2  u  Lothair,"  by  Benjamin  Disraeli,  had  been  published 
in  1870. 

3  By  Hans  Andersen,  translated  by  William  Howitt. 

189 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

that   corner  house  you  lived  in  when  you  came  to 
see    me    in    the    ear    2187432    X  —  B  —  Z    Q.E. 

X 
unbeknown. 

O  my!  ain't  I  sleepy! 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

$th  December,  1875. 

.  .  .  Your  remarks,  as  well  as  those  of  other 
persons  in  your  position,  about  D'Israeli's  Suez 
Canalism,1  are  to  me  very  illustrative  of  the  immense 
contrast  between  high-class  government  politicians 
in  our  country  and  those  in  France  and  elsewhere. 
No  one  can  differ  more  in  general  party  views  than 
such  as  you  and  D'l. — yet  on  a  subject  of  common 
patriotism  you  think  precisely  alike.  .  .  . 

Yes,  youth  does  seem  a  fable,  but  so  will  middle- 
age  bye  and  bye  to  you,  as  it  does  now  to  me 
already.  I  have  sad  fits  of  depression  often  now- 
adays, as  every  few  months  bring  tidings  of  illness 
and  death.  I  do  not  know  what  your  views  of 
future  states  or  material-annihilation  may  be  —  but 
probably  similar  to  mine — hating  dogma  about  what 
we  really  know  nothing  about, — yet  willing  to  hope 
dimly.  Perhaps,  however,  you  may  be  like  a  lady 
whom  I  know,  who,  on  the  deaths  of  her  husband, 
parents,  5  children  etc :  rather  rejoices  than  not. 
"  It  would  be  so  very  painful  for  them  to  have 
survived  me!  and  besides  only  think  what  an 
immense  party  of  beloved  ones   I    shall   be   sure   to 

1  In  1875  the  British  Government  purchased  176,602  Canal 
shares  from  the  Khedive  of  Egypt  to  the  value  of  ^4,076,622. 
England  thus  became  half-owner  of  the  Canal. 

190 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

meet  all  at  once  when  I  myself  depart!"  .  .  . 
" Friend  after  friend  departs" — there  is  something 
very  touching  and  human  in  much  of  T.  Moore's 
poetry,  though  it  be  not  of  the  highest  order. 
Talking  of  poets, — Lionel  Tennyson,  As  2nd  son, 
and  godson  of  F.  Lushington,  is  to  marry  the 
daughter  of  Locker.1  (Bye  the  bye,  I  am  a  god- 
father again,  to  F.  Lushington's  newly-born  boy.) 
Lady  Charlotte  Locker  was  Lady  Augusta  Stanley  's 
sister.  On  New  Year's  day,  Arthur  P.  Stanley2 
wrote  to  me,  and  did  not  seem  more  than  usually 
anxious  about  Lady  A.  But  yesterday  Mrs.  George 
Howard  .  .  .  passed  through  here,  and  she  told  me 
of  a  letter  she  had  just  had,  informing  her  that 
Lady  A[ugusta]  had  had  a  fresh  seizure  on  the  2nd, 
and  is  dying.  I  am  very  grieved  for  poor  Arthur. 
You  will  of  course  have  known  about  North- 
brook's  return.  Something  which  Evelyn  Baring  3 
told  me  a  good  while  ago  about  his  health  has 
caused  this  not  to  be  a  surprise  to  me.  Yet  there 
may  be  other  reasons  behind,  but  "  I  forbear " 
like  Herodotus  "to  mention"  one  I  have  heard, 
because    I    don't   believe   it.4      What  a   horrid   con- 

1  The  present  Mrs.  Birrell. 

2  Arthur  Penrhyn  Stanley,  better  known  as  Dean  Stanley, 
a  close  personal  friend  of  Lear's  frequently  mentioned  in  his 
letters,  was  the  second  son  of  the  Bishop  of  Norwich.  He 
was  appointed  Chaplain  to  the  Prince  Consort  in  1854,  anc* 
became  Dean  of  Westminster  in  1863.  He  was  a  champion  of 
Colenso.  He  married  Lady  Augusta  Bruce  of  the  Elgin  family 
in  1863  ;  she  died  in  1876. 

3  The  present  Earl  of  Cromer.  He  was  Lord  Northbrook's 
Private  Secretary  in  India  1872-1876. 

«  Important  difficulties  had  arisen  between  the  India  Office 
and  the  Viceroy.     Lord  Northbrook  resigned  on  January  4th. 

191 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

tinuance  of  glitter  and  shindy  is  that  progress  of 
the  P[rince]  of  W[ales.]  How  glad  I  am  not  to 
be  in  India.  N's  return,  however,  lessens  the 
probability  of  my  second  visit.  I  think  now  I  have 
looked  over  all  and  not  overlooked  any  of  the  points 
of  your  letter,  which  was  a  delightfully  long  and 
genial  one.  So  the  rest  I  shall  fill  up  with  egotism 
and  maggotism.  .  .  . 

The  weather  has  been  simply  Paradise  from  3rd 
October  to  January  5th, — but  now  it  is  changed, 
coldy  and  wet.  Yet  I  have  no  fires  by  day  yet,  and 
write  this  by  an  open  window,  Foss  the  cat  on  the 
ledge.  Oranges  and  flowers  in  the  garden  magnifi- 
cent. Society  slender.  ...  In  fact  Sanremo  is  fast 
becoming  less  and  less  of  an  English  colony  since  the 
French  War  which  sent  all  the  Germen  and  Gerwomen 
here.  (Positively,  there  are  now  eighty  in  one  hotel ! ) 
And  it  is  a  painful  fact  that  many  English  ladies  flee 
such  hotels, — the  Germans,  say  they,  spit  at  dinner- 
time and  smoke  all  night.  So  the  nationalities  aloof- 
stand.  Meanwhile,  the  Germans  are  sent  here  simply 
to  die.  Twenty  three  have  died  since  November  1st, 
and  all  sent  back  to  Germany,  which  I  know  so 
accurately  about  because  W.  Congreve  our  Vice- 
Consul  has  to  superintend  and  numerate  these 
necropolitan  derangements.  W.  Congreve  and  his 
sons,  my  next  neighbours,  are  a  blessing, — but  as  I 
said,  of  society  generally  there  is  little.  Remember,  if 
ever  you  should  make  a  rush  here,  I  can  put  you  up 
beautiful  and  feed  you  spontaneous-analogous. 

The  subject  of  disagreement  had  been  the  Tariff  Act.  Some 
remarkable  despatches  were  sent  by  Lord  Salisbury  to 
Lord  Northbrook. 

192 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

P.S.  I  am  reading  Carlyle's  "  Frederick  the 
Great."  My  library  is  a  wunner!  Your  Fortescue  l  is 
considered  the  loveliest  piece  of  furniture  in  these 
latitudes — for  which  accept 

my  gratitudes         — and  may  you  meet 
with  beattitudes         — whereon  I'll 
write  no  more  platitudes       — but  will  go  to  lumpshon 
with  a  cleary  conscience. 

N.B.  Aberdare's  commission  was  for  ^200,  but  I 
am  doing  an  exceptionally  big  picture  for  that  sum, 
out  of  remembrance  of  past  days. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear, 

Dudbrook, 

Brentwood. 

April  27.  1876. 

.  .  .  Someone  told  me  that  you  were  to  have  a 
visit  from  Northbrook  on  his  way  home.  He  ought 
to  be  a  happy  man, — coming  home  at  his  age,  with 
health  uninjured  and  a  high  position, — after  filling  his 
great  post  so  well.  Four  such  years  must  be  a 
wonderful  passage  in  a  mans  life.  .  .  . 

This  Government  has  damaged  its  reputation  not  a 
little  during  the  last  few  months  and  weeks,  but  as 
long  as  they  hold  together,  there  is  no  prospect  of  a 
change.  The  Empress  business  2  has  been  a  wonder- 
ful piece  of  folly,  where  there  was  nothing  to  be  done 
but  to  let  well  alone.  I  suppose  you  still  perform  the 
first  duty  of  an  Englishman  and  read  your  Times 
regularly.     You  will  see  an  interesting  character  of 

1  See  p.  134. 

2  At  Disraeli's  instigation  the  new  title  of  Empress  of  India 
was  conferred  on  the  Queen  in  1876. 

193  N 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

poor  Lord  Lyttelton  *  by  Gladstone.  I  knew  him 
very  little,  but  should  have  said  that  he  was  a  healthy- 
minded  man.  However  he  had  evidently  fallen  into 
religious  self-tortures.  He  said  not  long  ago  to 
Houghton,  talking  of  a  future  state.  "  I  would  gladly 
compound  for  annihilation." 

Write  soon  and  tell  us  how  you  are — mentally, 
physically,  ocularly,  jocularly,  digestively,  artistically, 
pecuniarily,  prospectively,  retrospectively,  positively, 
comparatively,  superlatively, — and  as  many  more  lies 
as  occur  to  you. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Emily.    Sanremo. 

yth  May  1876. 

I  was  very  glad  to  get  your  Dudbrookious  letter, 
(date  27th  April) — which  I  did  on  the  30th.  I  had 
been  talking  of  you  with  our  mewtshool  friend  Henry 
Bruce  only  a  week  before.  He,  Lord  Aberdare,  with 
three  of  his  nice  children  spent  three  days  here  nearly, 
and  I  saw  them  constantly  up  till  Monday,  May  1st, 
when  after  breakfasting  with  me,  he  went  on  with  his 
party  to  Genoa.  The  visit  was  only  begloomed  by 
the  miserable  Lyttelton  news.  I  think  you  know  I 
have  staid  at  Hagley,  and  last  year  I  saw  them  all 
often  close  by  me  at  Portland  Place  :  anyhow  you 
know  that  I  have  known  poor  Lady  L[yttelton] 
since  she  was  eight  years  old,  when  with  the  G.  Clives 
her  parents  in  Rome  during  1846-7.  So  as  you  are 
aware   of  my  nature  you  may    suppose  this   tragedy 

1  4th  Lord  Lyttelton,  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council, 
K.C.M.G.,  and  a  learned  Greek  scholar.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  Lord  Lyttelton  was  suffering  from  melancholia. 

194 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

grieved   me  much.  .  .  .  Aberdare   was  in  wonderful 
health  and  spirits,  and  to  my  great  pleasure,  delighted 
with,    even   in    its    incomplete   state,    his    picture   of 
Kinchinjunga.     I   could  have  wished  him  to  have  a 
second  picture  I  am  painting  of  the  great  plains  of 
Bengal,  also  six  feet  long  :  but  he  goes  in  for  one  only, 
and  the  pair  will  be  divided.     If  you  know  anyone  as 
wants  a  remarkable  work  of  art  for  ^500,  please  name 
it   to  the    fortunate  individdle.      I    don't   know    that 
anything  has  given  me  so  much  pleasure  for  a  long 
time  past,  as  the  Aberdarion  visit  :  he  has  always  been 
a  thoroughly  kind  and  steady  friend  to  me,  as  have 
you     SPQRC,    and     Northbrook,     of    whom   anon. 
Louisa,  Lady  Ashburton  is  to  have  the  largest  of  my 
three   pictures,  ten   feet  long,  and  I  had  hoped  she 
might  have  come  here :  but  I  think  it  probable,  as  she 
was  not   in  good  health,  that  the  Lyttelton  tragedy 
has   sent   her  straight  home, — Lady  L.  having  been 
(and  she  married  Lord  A's  own  nephew)  her  intimate 
friend  for  years.     The  next  swell  I  am  expecting  is 
T.G.  Baring  Lord  Northbrook,  he  has  written  twice 
to  tell  me  to  write  whether  I  am  here,  and  I  expect 
him  to   land  at    Brindisi  on    the  12th    or    14th    and 
then  he  comes  on  here.     On  the  14th  F.  Lushington, 
my  most  partickler  friend  comes  to  stay  (I  hope)  a 
good  ten  or  fourteen  days,  so  there  is  a  plethora  of 
friendship  all  in  a  lump.     I    wish  for    all    that,    you 
were  coming  too,  but  I  fear  milady  will  never  cross 
the    Channel    again,  as  she    hates  the  sea   so :    and 
without  her,  you  are  not  likely  to  come.  .  .  .   But  I 
strenuously   resist   all     "  acquaintance,"   my    idea   of 
happiness  in  life,  such  as  we  can  get,  growing  more 
distinct  as  I  grow  older,  (and  I  am  64  on  the  12th) 

195 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

and  more  remote  from  noise  and  fuss.  At  the  very 
door  of  St.  Peter  of  the  Keys,  I  shall  stipulate  that  I 
will  only  go  into  Heaven  on  condition  that  I  am 
never  in  a  room  with  more  than  ten  people. 

Yes,  John  Symonds  is  very  pleasant,  but  I  wish 
he  were  stronger  :  he  over  works  himself.  When 
next  you  meet  him,  he  will  amuse  you  by  telling  you 
of  an  interview  between  him  and  Dr.  Congreve, 
Comtist,  etc.  The  Doctor  is  very  queer  on  some 
points,  and  lectured  J.A.S  on  writing  so  much.  He 
is  indeed  furiously  excitable  on  many  points,  and 
believes  one  should  write  on  high  (moral  subjects,  or 

(social 
not  at  all.  ...  His  two  sisters  have  been  staying 
here  two  or  three  months,  with  my  next  door  neigh- 
bour Walter  Congreve,  and  I  regret  to  say  they  go 
to-morrow.  Two  more  delightfully  pleasant,  well- 
informed,  and  accomplished  ladies  I  have  never 
met.  .  .  . 

Concerning  the  present  Government,  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  ''Empress  business"  is  far  worse  than 
folly  l  :  and  I  sometimes  think  that  the  Right  Hon. 
Gentleman  and  Novelist — Charlatan  at  the  head  of 
H  M's  Government  is  about  the  worst  R.  Republican 
going.  Anyhow,  numbers  of  Republicans  bless  him 
for  this  last  effort.  But  please  tell  me,  (what  I  cannot 
understand  was  not  put  forth  in  your  House  by  our 
side,)  if  as  Lord  Cairns  and  the  D[uke]  of  Richmond 
said,    all  this    fuss    about    the    title    is  only  a   party 

1  The  proclamation  of  the  Queen's  new  title  of  Empress  of 
India,  made  on  May  ist,  had  caused  dissatisfaction,  as  it  did  not 
convey  the  promised  statement  that  the  title  of  Empress  should 
be  localised  in  India  alone. 

196 


India,  England,  and  San  Remo 

movement, — why  did  Messrs.  Henley  and  Newdigate 
vote  against  it,  or  refrain  from  voting  for  it  ?  Surely 
they  are  Conservatives  if  any  are  alive,  .  .  . 

If  you  are  in  Bush's  shop,  ask  him  to  show  you 
a  poem  about  "  Lady  Jingly  Jones,"  it  comes  out  in 
a  new  edition  of  "  Nonsense  Songs  and  Stories" 
later.  .  .  . 


Space  left  for 
something  that  has 
gone  out  of  my 
head  and  which  I 
can't  recall.  Oh ! 
now  I  recollect. 
Don't  be  so  long 
before  you  write 
again.  It  is  five 
months  since  I 
wrote   to  you. 


Yes,  Lady  Derby,1  is  gone.  I 
shall  never  imitate  her  more. 
In  later  days  than  those  you 
speak  of,  I  came  to  know  she 
had  very  many  better  qualities 
than  appeared  outside,  and  was 
very  wrongly  judged  by  various 
folk  in  Knowsley  days.  Had 
her  son  been  Minister  now  I 
believe  this  Title  mess  would 
not  have  happened.  My  old 
Corfu  friend  Sir  James  Reid — 
Co-Chief  Justice  with  F.  Lush- 
ington  in  Corfu — has  also  died 
suddenly,  to  my  sorrow,  lately  : 
he  was  sixty-nine. 


Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 
August  26.  1876. 

.  .  .  The   transformation   of   Dizzy   into    Earl    of 
Beaconsfield  is  an  amusing  event.     What    a    career 

1  Lady  Derby,  wife  of  the  14th  Earl,  daughter  of  the  first 
Lord  Skelmersdale. 

197 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Vivian  Grey  has  had!  He  told  My  Lady  one 
Sunday  at  Strawberry  that  the  strain  of  the  House 
of  Commons  was  too  much  for  him,  and  that  he 
hated  it  as  much  as  he  once  enjoyed  it.  But  I  hear 
he  was  very  low  when  it  came  to  the  point.  His 
loss  in  the  Commons  must  weaken  his  party — but 
there  are  no  signs  of  political  change  yet. 

"  The  Bulgarian  atrocities "  *  are  sickening — but 
there  is  no  use  in  speculating  about  those  countries. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear, 

Dudbrook. 

Bee.  22.  1876 

...  I  caught  sight  one  day  at  Bush's  of  a  pile 
of  smart  red  and  green  books,  and  behold  it  was  a 
new  Nonsense  Book.  I  carried  off  a  copy  at  once, 
and  much  enjoyed  it,  and  many  copies  have  found 
their  way  here  since — for  the  Xmas  tree  etc :  I  was 
glad  to  meet  again  in  full  dress  my  old  friend  the 
Akond  of  Swat,  whom  I  had  learnt  to  know  in  the 
undress  of  MS.  I  was  amused  at  the  sort  of  con- 
troversy that  sprang  up  in  the  press  as  to  whether 
children  of  all  ages  did  or  ought  to  enjoy  the 
Lyrics, — the  result  of  which  was  decidedly  favour- 
able. 

1  Mr.  Baring,  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Constantinople,  who 
was  sent  to  Bulgaria  to  investigate  the  seriousness  of  the 
massacres,  placed  the  number  of  victims  at  not  less  than 
twelve  thousand. 


198 


CHAPTER   VI 

March,   1877,  to  October,   1878. 

SAN    REMO   AND    ENGLAND. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Hotel  de  Londres, 

Sanremo. 

15  March  1877. 

I  AM  in  such  great  sorrow  and  distress  that  I  am 
obliged  to  turn  to  real  friends  in  the  hope  of 
their  sending  me  ever  so  little  a  line  by  post,  so  that 
I  may  feel  myself  less  alone  than  I  am.  .  .  . 

My  dear  good  servant  and  friend  George  Kokali, 
who  during  nearly  twenty-two  years  has  attended 
me  and  served  me  and  nursed  me  in  illness  with 
a  faithfulness  which  better  masters  than  I  have  had 
few  chances  of  obtaining, — has  been  growing  weaker 
and  weaker  for  months  past.  Ever  since  his  dread- 
ful dysentery  in  Ceylon  he  has  been  weaker,  but  the 
deaths  of  his  wife,  mother  and  brothers  all  at  once 
on  his  return  seemed  to  paralyze  and  change  him, 
and  although  his  second  son  has  come  to  him  here 
for  a  year  and  a  half — yet  he  has  gradually  failed, 
and  two  weeks  ago  he  told  me  that  he  could  work 
no  more,  but  would  like  to  go  to  Corfu  to    see    his 

199 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

other  two  children.  I  had  no  doubt  as  to  my  duty. 
We  are  not  here  to  receive  good  service  for  years, 
and  then,  on  its  ceasing,  to  turn  round,  and  say  we 
are  quits  and  can  do  no  more  for  those  who  have 
never  given  us  anything  but  faithful  help.  So  at 
once  I  set  off  with  him  to  Corfu,  my  task  greatly 
lightened  by  Vice-Consul  Congreve's  son  Hubert 
who  went  with  me. 

The  journey  from  Ancona  to  Brindisi  was  terrible 
— one  long  snowstorm,  such  as  has  never  been 
known  so  far  south.  At  Brindisi,  two  feet  of  snow ! 
and  no  ship  could  leave  the  harbour.  I  was  therefore 
compelled,  after  bringing  poor  George  to  within 
twelve  hours  of  his  home,  to  leave  him  there,  and  I 
came  back  through  Naples  and  Rome,  reaching 
Sanremo  on  the  13th. 

Naturally,  servants  can't  be  got  on  a  sudden,  and 
still  more  naturally  I  am  the  last  man  to  take  to 
educating  new  servants  at  set.  65.  So  for  the  present 
darkness  I  have  taken  a  room  at  the  Londres  close 
by,  and  come  over  to  work  here.  Lord  Aberdare  has 
kindly  advanced  ^100  on  his  picture,  so  I  am  in  the 
money  sense  afloat.  And  a  cousin  of  Lady  Clermont, 
Lord  Clancarty,  has  lately  bought  two  drawings,  where- 
by tin  is  not  wanted,  though  poor  George's  advanced 
wages — (for  how  can  I  allow  him  to  be  without  money 
in  Corfu  ? )  and  all  this  journey  are  a  pull  on  the 
foolish  purse. 

Meanwhile  I  have  telegraphed,  but  can  get  no 
answer,  and  I  do  not  know  if  George  has  crossed, 
or  is  lying  ill  at  Brindisi.  I  shall  probably,  if  he  gets 
worse,  go  again  south  to  Corfu ;  for  to  do  all  one  can 
for  whoever  has  done  much  for  us  is  a  consolation. 

200 


I* 


'A  I 


o  -i 


San  Remo  and  England 

I  must  stop.  Only  adding  that  Earl  Grey's  speech 
in  the  Lords  I  has  given  me  the  utmost  pleasure  just 
now.  Will  nobody  "  move "  for  papers  concerning 
Russian  "atrocities"  in  Poland  and  elsewhere? 

A  friend  writes,  staying  in  a  house  when  the  late 
Premier  was  a  guest — "  Gladstone  in  most  respects  is 
a  pleasant  old  gentleman  enough  :  but  on  the  subject 
of  Turkey  he  flares  up  to  a  white  heat,  and  one's 
impression  is,  either  that  he  is  more  or  less  insane  or 
about  to  be  so, — or  that  he  does  all  this  screaming  as 
a  bidding  for  power."  I  prefer  the  former  view, — 
honest  but  enthusiastic  semi-madness  ! ! 

P.S.  On  leaving  George  at  Brindisi,  he  said  these 
words — ever  ringing  in  my  ears.  "  My  Master,  so 
good  to  me  and  mine  for  so  many  years,  I  must  tell 
you  this — I  shall  never,  never  see  you  more.  I  know 
that  Death  is  near — and  ever  nearer." 


Hotel  de  Londres.    Sanremo. 
18.  March  1877. 

Though  I  wrote  to  you  so  lately  as  the  15th — 
(I  addressed  the  letter  to  Strawberry  Hill,)  I  must 
send  a  few  lines  to  say  that  last  night  I  got  your 
sad  letter  written  on  the  same  day  ; — strange — yet 
some  comfort — that  both  of  us  were  employed  at  the 
same  time  in  communication  of  sympathy. 

1  Lord  Grey  admitted  that  the  Turkish  Government  was  bad, 
but  he  contended  a  change  of  Government  would  not  improve 
it.  He  was  in  favour  of  the  principle  of  non-intervention,  and 
consequently  opposed  the  institution  of  the  proposed  Inter- 
national Commission,  or  the  giving  of  local  autonomy  to  the 
revolted  provinces. 

201 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

The  sudden  death  of  Ward  Braham,1  (which  I 
had  not  seen  any  notice  of,)  must  indeed  be  of  great 
affliction  to  you  and  My  Lady.  I  am  extremely 
sorry  for  you  both,  but  most  so  for  her,  for  Ward 
Braham's  wonderful  spirits  and  merriment  cannot 
be  replaced  :  yet  the  memory  of  her  continual  kind- 
ness to  him  must  I  hope  soothe  and  comfort  her 
not  a  little  in  her  distress.  It  was  most  sad  that 
you  were  neither  of  you  with  him  at  the  last,  and 
it  seems  an  additional  sorrow  that  by  care  the 
calamity  might  have  been  avoided  altogether.  But, 
as  you  say — there  is  no  help  for  it  but  to  learn 
submission,  and  go  on  hoping  that  some  other  day 
may  bring  together  again  those  who  are  scattered 
now.  But  it  will  be  long  before  Lady  Waldegrave's 
kind  heart  will  cease  to  feel  keenly  the  wound  this 
loss  has  made  ;  her  knowledge  of  your  complete 
sympathy  with  her  grief  and  your  ability  to  console 
her,  being  the  best  safeguards  for  her  return  to 
calm. 

But  what  a  world  it  is  !  Yet — being  what  it  is — 
I  begin  to  see  more  and  more  clearly  that  to  kick 
and  repine  is  only  to  add  to  one's  misery.  The 
prompt  and  earnest  recognition  of  all  this  "forza 
maggiore "  being  right  and  for  our  good  in  the 
end,  must  surely  be  our  wisest  move. 

Cannes  has  been  cold — al  solito.  Here,  on  my 
return,  I  find  my  garden  one  blaze  of  flowers,  and 
the  worst  winter  being  a  sharpish  wind  now  and 
then,   which   howbeit,  never   prevents   any  but  very 

1  Lady  Waldegrave's  youngest  and  favourite  brother.  He 
died  in  a  few  days  from  congestion  of  the  lungs.  He  was  im- 
proving but  had  a  relapse. 

202 


San  Remo  and  England 

far  gone  invalids  from  going  out.  .  .  .  You  will  be 
glad  to  know  that  yesterday  brought  me  letters  from 
Giorgio's  Sons :  G.  and  Lambi  got  to  Corfu  on  the 
6th  and  for  the  present  poor  G.  is  not  worse. 

14  April  1877 
I  am  still  living  on  from  day  to  day — partly  at 
the  West  End  Hotel  (it  is  the  house  Lady  Kay 
Shuttleworth  built,  and  looks  into  my  garden,)  where 
I  breakfast,  dine  and  sleep, — partly  at  my  own  Villa, 
which  I  go  up  to  and  open  every  morning  and 
where  I  lunch  on  cold  meat  (with  my  cat),  and  work 
pretty  hard  all  day — except  on  Weddlesdays,  when 
I  have  people  to  see  my  Vorx  of  hart — and  when 
happily  some  drawings  are  now  and  then  sold.  Lord 
Windsor  bought  two  last  Wednesday,  but  the  season 
is  now  pretty  well  at  an  end — though  on  that  day 
42  people  came  to  my  rooms.  I  am  at  work  on  12 
drawings  for  Northbrook  and  3  for  Canon  Duck- 
worth, and  I  hope  to  finish  all  these  in  10  days' 
time  :  I  wish  you  could  see  them.  After  that  I 
finish  one  of  Lord  N.'s  2  large  oil  pictures  and 
Lord  Aberdare's  :  and  then  Louisa  Lady  Ashburtons 
big  Kinchinjunga  views,  putting  the  last  finishing 
to  a  "  Mount  Tomohrit "  and  a  "  Crag  that  fronts 
the  evening "  which  she  has  likewise  bought.  My 
coming,  or  not  coming  to  England  will  depend  on 
when  I  complete  these  works.  If  I  come,  it  will 
probably  be  in  July,  to  stay  with  F.  Lushington, 
and  not  take  a  lodging.  I  try  to  look  forward  to 
hard  work  as  the  only  mode  of  living  in  comfort, 
and  a  vast  semi-composition  of  Enoch  Arden — 
together  with  an   equally  large    Himalayan   subject, 

203 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

are  the  dreams  of  the  future — not  altogether  dreams 
though — since  the  designs  are  already  made. 

8  Duchess  St. 

Portland  Place. 

28  May.   1877. 

I  am  here :  but  the  upset  of  my  Sanremo  house — 
the  deaths  of  my  brother,1  and  of  Digby  Wyatt, 
and  a  heap  of  other  bothers  have  made  me  "  far 
from  a  pleasant "  companion. 

At  present  I  am  (and  shall  be  for  ten  days) 
arranging  a  gallery  here,  for  drawings,  and  for 
Lady  Ashburton's  and  Lord  Northbrooks  works 
which  I  want  to  exhibit  for  the  better  chance  of 
getting  some  new  commissions.  Tickets  shall  be 
sent  as  soon  as  ready. 

My  brain  is  in  so  bewildered  a  condition  from 
the  contrast  of  this  infernal  place  with  the  quiet 
of  my  dear  Sanremo  that  I  have  nearly  lost  all 
ideas  about  my  own  identity,  and  if  anybody  should 
ask  me  suddenly  if  I  am  Lady  Jane  Grey,  the 
Apostle  Paul,  Julius  Caesar  or  Theodore  Hook,  I 
should  say  yes  to  every  question.  .  .  . 

Since  I  began  this  I  have  seen  the  death  of  David 
Urquhart  2  in  the  paper — had  I  known  of  it  before 
I  should  have  written  less  nonsense. 

8  Duchess  St. 

Portland  Place 

Weddlesday  Borning. 
25  July,  1877. 

Many  thanx  to  My  Lady  and  you  for  remember- 

1  One  of  the  two  in  America. 

2  Married  to  Fortescue's  youngest  sister  (see  p.  138,  vol  i.). 

204 


San  Remo  and  England 

ing  of  this  child.  But  on  Saturday  and  Sunday 
I  am  booked  (an  old  engagement  and  of  my  own 
fixing,)  to  James  Hornby >  of  Eton.  So  I  propoge 
coming  to  you  on  Bunday  the  30th  and  also  stay- 
ing Toosdy  night  if  that  is  agreeable.  .  .  . 

I  wish  My  Lady  could  have  seen  these  two  large 
pictures,  of  which  my  friend  and  admirer  Sir 
Spencer  Robinson2  says  " there  are  no  such  pictures 
in  England."  (!) 

Both  "  Northbrook "  and  "Aberdare"  are  greatly 


pleased  with  their  paintings,  but  several  bad  accidents 
have  happened  by  people  injuring  their  brains  from 
standing  on  their  heads  in  an  extasy  of  delight, 
before  these  works  of  art. 

What  however  is  pleasant  is  this — that  at  no  pre- 
vious period  of  female  English  costume  could  ladies 

1  Rev.  James  John  Hornby,  D.D.,  D.C.L.,  third  son  of  Admiral 
Sir  Phipps  Hornby,  K.C.B.;  Head  Master  of  Eton  from  1868- 
1884;  Provost  of  Eton  since  1884;  died  in  1891. 

8  Admiral  Sir  Robert  Spencer  Robinson,  K.C.B.,  Controller  of 
the  Navy,  married  Clementina,  daughter  of  Admiral  Sir  John 
Louis,  2nd  Bart.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Friend  Robinson, 
prebendary  of  Kildare. 

205 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

have  so  given  way  to  their  impulses  of  admiration 
without  affronting  the  decencies  and  delicacies — 
whereas  now  they  can  postulate  theirselves  upside 
down  with  impunity,  and  no  fear  of  petticoatical 
derangement. 

Earl  Somers *  was  here  yesterday  very  unwell, 
it  seemed  to  me.  Also  Marchioness  Tavistock2 
which  was  lovely  to  behold. 

Then  follows  the  last  letter  I  can  find 
ever  written  by  Lear  to  Lady  Waldegrave : — 

31.  July,  1877. 
I  shall  trouble   you  with   this   gnoat   because   the 
chances  are  that  I  shall  not  see  you  again  before  I 
go  out  of  England,  ...  I   have  to  remain  with  my 


nose  at  the  Grindstone  to  finish  one  of  the  two 
large  Northbrook  pictures,  so  as  to  take  it  down 
to  Stratton  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

1  The  third  and  last  Earl,  husband  of  the  beautiful  Virginia 
Pattle,  daughter  of  James  Pattle,  H.E.I.C.S. 

2  Lady  Adeline  Somers- Cocks,  daughter  of  the  3rd  Earl 
Somers,  married  the  Marquis  of  Tavistock  in  1876,  afterwards 
the  10th  Duke  of  Bedford. 

206 


San  Remo  and  England 

After  witch,  and  another  visit  to  my  sister,  I 
shall  go  south  like  the  swollers. 

So  I  wish  you  goodbye,  with  many  good  wishes 
for  a  pleasant  Autumn,  and  many  thanks  for  much 
kindness.  Both  you  and  Chichester  have  always 
been  very  kind  to  me. 

But,  unless  you  both  come  to  Italy,  I  fear  it  will 
be  a  long  time  before  I  see  you  again,  if  at  all. 

To  Lord  Carlingford. 

8,  Duchess  Street, 

Portland  Place. 

i 6.  August,  1877. 

I  send  this,  just  to  ask  you  if  you  are  likely  to 
be  in  town  again — and  if  so — about  when,  so  that 
1  may  perhaps  have  a  chance  of  seeing  you  before 
I  go. 

I  staid  five  days  at  Stratton,1  with  great  satisfac- 
tion to  myself,  if  not  to  others.  Only  the  Arthur 
Ellis's  were  there,  besides  casual  neighbourisms  etc., 
and  quiet  perpetual  prevailed,  greatly  to  my  pleasure. 
Northbrook  has  now  made  his  house  wonderfully 
beautiful  by  his  excellent  arrangement  of  his  Uncle's 
pictures,  and  the  last  addition  was  a  large  Indian 
landscape  by  Lear,  four  more  of  whose  pusillanimous 
pigchurs  adawn  other  pawtions  of  the  house.  I  was 
extremely  pleased  at  Lord  N[orthbrook]  being  so 
gratified  with  the  "  Plains  of  Bengal,"  for  I  had  taken 
a  great  deal  of  pains  with  the  painting,  and  small 
blame  to  me,  seeing  how  kind  he  has  always  been. 
I  could  not   have  supposed  that  any  man  could  be 

1  Stratton,  near  Micheldever,  in   Hants,  Lord  Northbrook's 
country  seat. 

207 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

so  completely  the  same  as  N[orthbrook]  is  after 
such  a  varied  life  as  he  has  led.  And  this  holds 
good  also  regarding  Lady  Emma,1  who  is  exactly 
the  same  sweet  dispositioned,  simple  unaffected  lively 
girl  now  that  she  was  when  she  was  eight  years 
old,  only  that  she  now  has  the  judgment  and  tact 
of  a  woman  of  forty  at  the  same  time  with  her  old 
childish  simplicity — not  to  speak  of  her  additionally 
playing  well  on  the  Organ,  driving  famously,  and 
being  the  blessing  of  all  the  village  of  Stratton  as 
to  care  of  its  inhabitants.  I  was  frightfully  sorry  to 
come  away,  and  have  been  in  doubt  since  whether 
it  isn't  better  (as  Mrs.  Leake  used  to  say,)  to  make 
life  generally  odious  and  dreary,  thereby  preventing 
regrets  at  leaving  it. 

The  Northbrookians  came  up  with  me  yesterday, 
and  are  gone  to  Lord  Hardinge's,  and  afterwards 
(Saturday)  to  Tapley  Court. 

As  for  me  I  am  become  like  a  sparry  in  the 
pilderpips  and  a  pemmican  on  the  Housetops,  for 
only  Lady  Robinson  and  the  Alfred  Seymours  are 
left  in  towrn. 

8  Duchess  St.    Portland  Place. 

22  AugUSt  1877. 

Many  thanks  for  the  11  lb  cheque  just  received, 
leastways  last  night,  when  I  came  back  from  Admiral 
W.  Hornby's,  where  we  had  endless  talk  of  old 
Knowsley  days  that  are  no  more — not  to  speak  of 
salmon  grouse  and  champagne.  .  .  . 

I  lunched  with  Lady  Grey  yesterday,  she  is  eighty- 
eight,  but  scarcely  altered  except  in  being  lame,  .  .  . 

I  was  disgusted  at   having  to  dun  you,  but  there 

1  Lady  Emma  Baring,  Lord  Northbrook's  only  daughter. 

208 


San  Remo  and  England 

were  eight  others  similarly  to  be  extracted  from, 
and  the  nine  altogether  left  me  in  dismal  tinless- 
nesses.  .  .  . 

P.S.  Of  Carlingford  all  nature  knows — 

He  paid  his  debts — he  blew  his  nose. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  just  after  his 
return  to  San  Remo,  Lear  set  off  again  to  Corftl 
to  see  his  old  servant  George  Kokali. 

Villa  Emily.    Sanremo. 

7.  October,  1877. 

While  at  Corfu,  I  fell  in  with  an  old  (Maltese)  ser- 
vant of  James  Edwards  (Colonel  Bevan  Edwards  R.E.) 
who  had  travelled  with  his  master,  me,  and  George,  in 
1857.  And  when  I  came  back  here,  finding  myself 
disappointed  about  getting  a  servant  of  Mr.  George 
Howard's,  I  telegraphed  for  this  same  Filippo  Bohaja, 
who  not  being  in  service  now,  but  willing  to  come  to 
an  old  friend  of  his  former  master,  came  here  on 
September  30th  :  and  by  October  4th,  I,  (who  have 
been  living  at  an  Hotel  since  George  left  me  in  last 
February)  have  once  more  got  into  my  own  deserted 
villa,  where,  though  things  are  not  as  they  were  in 
poor  George's  time,  I  am  thankful  to  say  I  am  very 
tolerably  comfortable.  For  Filippo  is  a  very  decent 
and  active  man  and  a  good  cook ;  the  worst  is 
however  that  he  is  not  likely  to  remain,  all  Maltese 
being  given  to  homesickness ! 

Villa  Emily.    San  Remo. 

28  October,  1878. 
Thank  you  for  your  congratulations  about  George's 
return.     It  is  really  almost  unreal,  his  recovery,  the 

209  o 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

continued  recurrence  of  Dysentry  and  Liver  illness 
having  kept  him  for  fourteen  months  mostly  in  bed, 
and  often  apparently  about  to  die.  But  some  new 
system  of  medicine  {Iron  I  think?)  was  applied,  and  he 
rallied  ;  and  his  doctor  wrote  to  me  that  a  sea  voyage 
and  completely  new  air  might  possibly  restore  him. 
So  in  June,  I  sent  for  him  to  come  by  sea  to  Genoa : 
and  he  got  there,  a  mere  skeleton  and  unable  to  walk. 
But  I  thought  I  would  run  the  risk,  and  took  him 
straight  up  to  Monte  Generoso,  where  he  grew 
better  in  a  fabulous  way,  and  in  six  weeks  was  able  to 
sleep,  eat,  and  walk  as  he  had  not  done  for  three 
years.  Before  we  left  in  September,  he  walked  about 
Como,  carrying  my  folios  etc,  as  he  used  to  do  twenty- 
four  years  ago.  And  now  he  is  here  and  just  the 
same  orderly  good  active  man  as  ever  ;  and  everyone 
says  he  looks  ten  years  younger,  as  he  really  seems 
to  be.  I  sent  him  back  to  Corfu  lately  to  fetch  his 
second  son,  who  is  with  me  now  as  under  servant ; 
for  should  any  relapse  of  his  father's  health  occur, 
it  seemed  better  to  me  and  to  Lushington  (in  whose 
service  three  of  George's  brothers  were  formerly), 
that  I  should  be  able,  as  I  grow  older,  to  fall  back 
on  a  service  and  servant  I  could  really  trust.  So 
you  see  we  are  just  now  as  before  the  fathers  fell 
asleep,    George,    Lambi,   myself,    and    the    excellent 


Foss    *&0wt)W   now  eight  years  old. 


"  Whom  God  hath  joined,  let  no  man  put  asunder," 
so  I  can't  well  desire  that  you  should  come  here,  for 
I  am  sure  Milady  never  will,  and  you  wouldn't  be  happy 
without  her ;  so  I  must  go  on  for  the  few  remaining 
years    of    life,    writing,    and    not   speaking    to    you, 

210 


San  Remo  and  England 

inasmuch  as  I  do  not  at  all  think  I  shall  come  to 
England  again.  Some  people  are  older  at  sixty-seven 
than  others  and  I  am  one  of  those,  though  I  am  very 
thankful  to  say  I  am  generally  in  good  health  ;  and 
the  interest  I  have  in  my  very  beautiful  terrace  garden 
is  always  a  delight.  I  have  also  now  a  large  Library, 
and  can  lend  a  hundred  or  more  volumes  to  invalids 
during  the  season.  My  hair  likewise  is  falling  off, 
and  I  rejoice  to  think  that  the  misery  of  hair  cutting 
will  soon  cease.  Moreover  I  have  lovely  broad  beans 
in  April  and  May,  and  the  Lushingtons  come  and  stay 
with  me,  so  that  altogether  I  should  be  rather  sur- 
prised if  I  am  happier  in  Paradise  than  I  am  now.  .  .  . 
Last  winter  was  a  bad  one  for  my  Water  Colour 
Gallery,  only  one  £7  drawing  having  been  sold,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  Jones  Lloyd  and  poor  Richard 
Bright  who  bought  some  small  oil  paintings  I  should 
have  come  to  grief.  (Bye  the  bye,  the  Gent  who 
bought  the  Seven  Pound  drawing  was  an  "  Analytical 
Chemist  "  whatever  that  may  be  :  and  there  is  a  Lady 
here  who  deranges  epitaphs  as  famously  as  Mrs. 
Malaprop.  "  I  hear,"  quoth  she  "  that  the  person 
who  has  taken  the  villa  next  door  is  an  epileptical 
chemist " — "Good    heavens!"     said     her     husband, 

"what    stuff    you    talk  !  "— "  Well  "   said    Mrs. 

"you  needn't  be  so  sharp  if  one  makes  a  mistake — 
of  course  you  know  I  meant  an  Elliptical 
Chemist!")1  .  .  . 

1  Lear  was  fond  of  quoting  this  lady.  In  another  letter  he 
says  :  "  Mrs.  Malaprop  here  is  reported  to  have  said  lately — 
4  Disintegration  cannot  be  called  a  virtue,  yet  it  is  useful  some- 
times when  sheer  supposition  would  be  useless.' "  For  "  disin- 
tegration "  read  "  dissimulation  " — "  for  supposition  M — "  oppo- 
sition." 

211 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Monte  Generoso  is  quite  the  best  place  of  the  sort 
I  have  known,  the  walks  delightful  and  the  views 
wonderful. 

You  could  see  the  flies  walking  up  the  Cathedral  of 
Milan  any  afternoon.  The  thunder  storms  were  a 
bore  though.  A  queer  little  boy  three  or  four  years 
old  at  the  Hotel  had  never  heard  thunder,  and  asked 
what  that  big  drum  was,  "  The  noise  is  made  by  God 
Almighty  " — said  his  mother.  "  My  !  "  said  the  child 
— "  I  didn't  know  he  played  on  the  Drum !  What 
a  big  one  it  must  be  to  be  heard  all  the  way  down 
here!  ..." 

Did  you  see  that  Lady  Lisgar  *  is  married  again  ? 
They  put  her  first  marriage  at  1855  but  it  was  1835, 
and  she  must  be  at  least  sixty-three.  Mrs.  Culley 
Hanbury  and  Hon.  Mrs.  Freemantle  came  yesterday 
— they  were  Culley  Eardleys  in  old  days.  (When 
they  were  children,  I  called  at  Sir  C.  E.  with  Lady 
Davy,  and  the  three  little  Eardleys  came  in  and  said 
4 'Papa  is  coming  directly  ;  we  have  been  in  his  study 
and  have  blessed  privileges.,,  What  are  those  ?  "  said 
Lady  D[avy.]  "  Blessed  Privileges  "  said  the  two 
girls  again.  "  But  what  ? — can  you  tell  me,  little 
man"  (to  the  brother)  "Yes"  quoth  he,  "they  are 
the  tops  of  Papas  three  eggs,  and  we  three  eat  one 
apiece  in  his  study.") 

A  huge  Hotel  is  to  be  built  just  below  my  garden  : 
if  it  is  on  the  left  side  it  will  shut  out  all  my  sea  view  ; 
a  calamity  as  afflicts  me. 

1  Adelaide  Annabella  (Baroness  Lisgar),  daughter  of  the 
Marchioness  of  Headfort  by  her  first  husband.  After  Lord 
Lisgar's  death  she  married  Sir  Francis  Fortescue  Turville, 
K.C.M.G. 

212 


San  Remo  and  England 

(The  Ahkond  of  Swat  would  have  left  me  all  his 
ppproppprty,  but  he  thought  I  was  dead  :  so  didn't. 
The  mistake  arose  from  someone  officiously  pointing 
out  to  him  that  King  Lear  died  seven  centuries  ago, 
and  that  the  poem  referred  to  one  of  the  Ahkond's 
predecessors.) 


Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Dudbrook. 

Brentwood. 

Jan.  10.  1879. 

...  Here  is  a  story  better  to  tell  than  to  write. 
Two  Yankee  ladies  overheard  at  the  Paris  Exhibition, 
looking  at  two  rather  nude  statues — one  inscribed 
Io — the  other  Psyche.  Says  one  to  the  other — "  I 
can't  bear  No.  10  and  they're  both  very  indecent, 
but  Pish  is  pretty — I  like  Pish'' 

213 


CHAPTER  VII 

July,    1879,   to  July,    1882. 

SAN    REMO    AND    SWITZERLAND. 

A  SUCCESSION  of  troubles  and  mis- 
^**  fortunes,  treading  closely  on  each  other, 
made  the  next  two  years  perhaps  the  darkest 
in  the  painter's  life.  So  strongly  is  this 
reflected  in  the  letters  that  we  have  thought 
it  best  to  make  the  briefest  summary  of  events 
and  take  up  the  thread  of  correspondence 
later  on. 

In  the  last  chapter  Lear  refers  to  the 
building  of  a  new  hotel  at  the  foot  of  his 
garden,  which  eventually  blocked  out  his 
sea-view  and  spoilt  the  lighting  of  his  studio. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  he  felt  this  very 
deeply  and  as  a  personal  injury  to  himself, 
and  the  bitterness  of  spirit  that  it  engendered 
affected  his  whole  outlook  on  things.  At 
length  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
only    remedy    was    to    build    another    house, 

214 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

and  in  the  spring  of  1880,  his  friends 
advancing  the  money,  he  bought  a  fresh 
piece  of  land  at  San  Remo  and  started  the 
building  of  the  Villa  Tennyson,  in  which  he 
lived  till  his  death.  But  it  was  never  the 
same  as  the  Villa  Emily ;  he  confessed  that 
it  was  "too  palatial-looking"  to  please  him. 

Constant  and  serious  domestic  worries 
added  to  his  difficulties.  He  returned  to 
San  Remo  in  1879  to  find  his  servant  Lambi 
Cocali,  old  George's  second  son,  gone  com- 
pletely to  the  bad.  There  was  nothing  to  be 
done  but  to  pay  his  debts  and  to  send  him 
back  to  Corftl.  However,  within  a  year  he 
had  to  be  fetched  back  by  George,  and  his 
eldest  brother,  who  had  fled  from  Corftl  to 
avoid  conscription,  gradually  drifted  to  San 
Remo  to  take  up  his  position  in  the  Lear 
household,  where  there  was  also  a  little 
brother  Dimitri,  about  thirteen  or  fourteen 
years  old.  In  the  spring  of  1881,  Giuseppe 
the  gardener,  another  trusted  servant,  died, 
and  almost  every  month  during  this  period 
was  saddened  by  the  loss  of  old  friends 
innumerable. 

But  an  infinitely  greater  loss  had  overtaken 

Lord  Carlingford.  .  .  . 

On  Saturday,  July  5,  1879,  London  society 

215 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

was  horrified  to  hear  of  the  death  of  one  who 
was  so  widely  known  and  so  much  beloved. 
Lady  Waldegrave  had  entertained  a  large 
party  at  Strawberry  Hill  the  previous  week- 
end to  meet  H.R.H.  the  Crown  Prince  of 
Sweden.  The  guests  had  noticed  that  their 
hostess  was  not  quite  herself,  that  her  general 
spontaneous  good  spirits  seemed  forced  and 
not  as  usual.  After  the  departure  of  her 
guests  during  the  early  part  of  the  following 
week,  she  had  appeared  tired  and  restless ; 
but  nothing  in  the  shape  of  alarm  of  any 
kind  was  felt.  But  on  the  Thursday,  in  the 
small  hours  of  the  morning,  Carlingford  had 
awakened  to  find  his  wife  in  a  terrible  state 
of  breathlessness  and  collapse  beside  him. 
The  local  practitioner  was  at  once  called  in, 
and  her  London  medical  adviser  telegraphed 
for.  She  became  calmer,  though  still  remaining 
very  weak  and  prostrate.  The  London  medical 
man  advised  her  removal  to  town  to  be 
under  his  own  special  care.  She  drove  up  to 
7,  Carlton  Gardens,  with  Carlingford,  arriving 
there  about  six  o'clock  on  the  Friday  even- 
ing. She  was  in  such  a  weak  state  that  she 
had  to  be  carried  from  the  carriage  to  the 
library,  where   a   bed   had  been   prepared   for 

her    to    pass    the    night.     Still    the    medical 

216 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

man  inferred  there  was  no  cause  for  alarm. 
When  she  was  put  to  bed  about  nine  o'clock 
at  night,  Carlingford  was  quite  unaware  of 
the  great  gravity  of  the  situation.  He  re- 
mained with  her,  lying  down  on  a  sofa  in 
the  room.  In  the  small  hours  of  the 
morning  she  became  very  seriously  worse, 
and  at  once  Carlingford  grew  alarmed,  and 
in  his  now  terrible  anxiety  sent  for  Sir 
Andrew  Clark.  On  his  arrival  he  saw  that 
the  case  was  hopeless,  finding  she  had  very 
serious  congestion  of  both  lungs  complicated 
by  heart  weakness.  She  rapidly  grew  worse, 
and  sinking  into  a  state  of  coma,  died  about 
nine  o'clock  on  the   Saturday  morning. 

Carlingford's  despair  was  terrible,  and 
added  to  his  sorrow  was  stinging  self- 
reproach  that  he  had  been  blind  to  the 
advance  of  this  fatal  and  sudden  illness. 
If  anything  could  have  given  him  relief  it 
was  the  universal  appreciation  of,  and  sorrow 
at  the  loss  of  the  woman  he  loved  so  tenderly 
and  devotedly. 

Carlingford     never    really    recovered     from 

this  blow,  and  indirectly  it  was  the  cause   of 

the    illness   the   results   of   a  chill    begun   at 

San    Remo,    from    the    effects    of    which    his 

nerves  never  thoroughly  recovered. 

217 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Gand  Hotel  Varese, 
Varese 
Milano. 

gth  July  1879. 

I  have  just  seen  the  London  and  Paris  papers  of 
Monday,  and  know — to  my  great  sorrow — what 
has  happened. 

At  present  I  only  write  to  say  that  I  am  thinking 
of  you  and  grieving  for  you. 
God  bless  you. 

Yours  affectionately, 
Edward  Lear. 


Monte  Generoso, 
Mendrisio, 

Canton  Ticino,  Suisse. 

July  20.  1879. 

My  dear   Chichester    Fortescue, — I    have   been 

waiting  to  write  to  you  until  some  time  should  have 

passed,  so  that  I  could  hear  somewhat  of  you  during 

the   two  weeks  which  have  now   gone  by  since  the 

dreadful   loss    you    have    been   called    on    to   suffer. 

Northbrook  most  kindly  wrote  me  a  long  letter  on  the 

8th,   Lord  Somers  and  Alfred  Seymour   on  the  day 

after  :    and  now  Lady  Clermont   sends    me  a   letter 

telling  me  of  much  I  had  only  conjectured  or  wished, 

and   besides  these,   I   have  had  many  extracts   from 

various  papers  forwarded  to  me,  and  latterly  I  have 

read  full  accounts  of  the  Funeral  at  Chewton.     What 

gives  me  most  pleasure  is  to  know  that  you  are  likely 

218 


San   Remo  and  Switzerland 

to  remain  at  Chewton,1  and  that  the  Clermonts  will 
be  there  also, — perhaps  too  Mrs.  Urquhart. 

My  first  feeling,  after  I  had  heard  of  your  sorrow, 
was  a  difficulty  in  figuring  to  myself  what  you, — 
now  so  cut  off  from  what  has  been  your  regular  mode 
of  life  for  sixteen  years — would  do  :  and  I  fancied  that 
a  complete  change  might  be  good  for  you, — travel 
etc.  :  but  I  have  now  come  to  think  quite  differently, 
and  believe  that,  since  you  have  succeeded  to  all 
Lady  Waldegrave's  estates,2  you  will  be  happier  in 
following  out  the  line  of  action  you  two  have  so  long 
worked  at  in  common,  and  in  making  all  that  was  her 
interest  your  own,  only  with  a  single  instead  of  double 
will ; — though  who  shall  say  this  with  certainty  ?  For 
that  such  a  spirit  and  intellect  as  hers  should  cease  to 
exist  appears  to  me  a  most  foolish  notion  (spite  of 
Congrevism  and  M.  Milnes) ;  and  if  it  exists  still 
who  dare  say  that  it  does  not  take  as  much  or  more 
part  in  what  you  think  and  do  as  when  she  was  on 
earth  and  living  ?  So  I  have  brought  myself  to  feel 
that  your  increased  responsibilities  and  interests  will 
be  your  happiest  onward  lookout. 

I  do  not  suppose  any  human  being  who  has 
suffered  so  great  a  loss  as  you  have,  can,  notwith- 
standing its  severity  and  extent,  have  had  more  to 
be  thankful  for  in  the  shape  of  consolation  as  the 
immense  amount  of  sympathy  shewn  you  must  have 
brought.      For,   as   one   paper  well   observed, — "no 

1  Chewton  Priory,  Lady  Waldegrave's  Somerset  estate,  and 
in  the  churchyard  of  the  beautiful  old  church  she  lies 
buried  with  her  brother  Ward  Braham,  and  since  1898  with 
Carlingford. 

8  For  life. 

219 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

person  who  has  occupied  so  high  a  social  position  as 
Lady  Waldegrave,  ever  had  so  many  real  friends 
and  so  few  enemies," — of  which  last  indeed  I  cannot 
think  she  had  any.  Her  universal  kindness,  and,  as 
Northbrook  writes,  "her  charity  in  the  largest  and 
most  general  sense  of  the  word,"  are  even  more  obvious 
now  than  her  social  and  intellectual  abilities,  and  it  is 
quite  certain  that  no  one  can  in  any  degree  fill  her 
place. 

To  myself  her  loss  is  that  of  one  of  the  most  unvary- 
ingly kind  of  friends,  not  only  as  helping  me  so  much 
in  my  profession,  but  in  many  other  ways,  and  for  a 
long  period  of  time ; — see  how  many  pictures  and 
drawings  she  has  had  of  me — and  of  her  own  choice 
— (for  decision  as  to  what  she  liked  in  art  was  not  the 
least  remarkable  of  her  qualities) — and  remember  how 
constantly  she  welcomed  me  to  her  houses  with  un- 
mixed friendliness,  unaltered  in  the  smallest  degree 
by  her  enormous  popularity  !  It  is  true  that  I  may 
or  should  recollect  that  the  fact  of  my  being  one  of 
your  friends  might  have  had  much  to  do  with  these 
matters,  yet  I  am  fully  certain  that  this  was  not 
wholly  so,  and  that  I  may  think  of  her  as  a  true 
friend  to  myself  for  my  own  sake.1 

With  the  curious  accuracy  of  memory  I  have  always 
had,  I  can  recall  every  minute  particular  of  my  stays 
at  Nuneham,  Strawberry,  or  Chewton,  and  it  is  only 
within  the  last  ten  days  that  I  have  begun  actually  to 
realise  the  details  of  days  past  as  well  as  the  present 
calamity.  If  I  feel  this,  what  and  how  much  must  you  ? 
— to  whom  life  as  suddenly  as  it  were  become  a  blank, 

1  Lady  Waldegrave  was  devoted  to  Mr.  Lear  for  his  own 
sake,  as  well  as  Carlingford's. 

220 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

and  all  life's  double  charm  cut  in  twain  ?  Let  me, 
as  well  as  all  who  love  you  and  her  memory,  hope 
and  believe  that  every  month  and  year  will  brighten 
your  path  by  little  and  little,  and  that  you  will  come 
to  feel  that  even  in  sorrow  there  are  sources  of  joy. 
I  should  like  at  some  future  time  to  know  how 
much,  if  at  all,  you  were  prepared  for  this  afflicting 
blow  ;  for  in  one  paper  I  read,  "  Lady  Waldegrave 
had  been  for  some  time  in  ill  health,"  but  I  do  not 
gather  thus  much  from  other  notices.  I  should  also 
like  to  know  how  poor  Charles  Braham  and  Constance 
Braham  are :  likewise  Lady  Strachey.  (I  saw  by 
one  paper  that  two  brothers  I  never  heard  of  were 
at  the  Funeral,  u  Augustus  Braham,"  and  M  Major 
Braham."  l     Possibly  a  mistake  for  Charles.) 

I  have  come  up  here  for  a  time  with  my  old  Suliot 
servant,  who  had  a  bad  accident — a  fall — lately ; 
partly  for  his  health  which  is  mending  in  this  wonderful 
air,  and  partly  to  relieve  my  own  eyes  by  the  greens 
and  blues  of  distance  over  Lombard  plains,  instead  of 
the  frightful  glare  from  the  dreadful  building  across 
and  before  my  unfortunate  villa.  .  .  .  Sufficient  unto 
the  day  is  the  weevil  thereof, — and  I  am  obliged 
always  to  put  a  curb  on  the  descriptions  of  my 
miserable  bothers,  which  after  all  I  must  learn  to 
weigh  against  the  many  friends  and  blessings  which, 
up  to  67Jaet,  I  have  had  and  known.  .  .  . 

Up  here  we  have  had  Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen, 
pleasant  folk,  and  she  singularly  nice :  but  they  went 
yesterday.     More  to  my  gain  were   Dean  Church  of 

1  Augustus  Braham  was  Major  Braham,  an  elder  brother  to 
Charles  and  Ward,  her  two  youngest  and  favourite  brothers. 

221 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

St.  Paul's,1  (Charles  M.  C's2  brother)  with  various 
Moberlys  and  Coleridges, — all  a  "  superior"  lot.  And 
the  Dean  giving  me  two  commissions  for  30  guinea 
drawings  of  "  Argos  "  and  of  this  place,  did  not  make 
his  stay  less  agreeable.  We  have  now  only  (of 
English)  our  San  Remo  Chaplain  Fenton  and  his 
daughter  :  he  a  very  good  man — but  narrow,  and  a 
contrast  to  Richard  Church  as  to  religious  views.  So 
the  Aberdeen  Haddo  memories  seem  to  have  been, 
(for  Lady  A.  gave  me  a  memorandum  of  Lord  H.  the 
5th  Earl),  vide  the  Haddo  convictions  that  "  a 
pursuit  of  art  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  religion 
of  Christ"  !!  — ! 

Now,    my    dear    Chichester,   goodbye — and    God 

bless  you.  .  .  . 

Yours  affectionately, 

Edward  Lear. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear, 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 

July  25.  1879. 

My  dear  Old  Friend  Lear, — I  am  very  glad  to 
have  your  affectionate  letters — and  with  your  genuine 
practical  considerate  friendship  you  take  great  trouble 
to  arrange  for  meeting  me,  so  as  to  give  me  the  con- 
solation of  your  company.  There  is  indeed  no  one  I 
could  better  be  with  than  yourself,  but  as  I  have  tele- 

1  Richard  William  Church,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's  from  1871,  wrote 
several  volumes  of  sermons  and  various  Essays  and  Biographies. 

2  Charles  M.  Church,  one  of  Lear's  ten  original  friends, 
Principal  of  Wells  Theological  College,  1866- 1880.  Residentiary 
Canon  since  1879.  Author  of  several  works  connected  with 
Wells.     Has  kindly  lent  two  drawings  for  this  book. 

222 


■zrj  ,- 

.S  o 


San  Remo   and  Switzerland 

graphed,  it  is  impossible.  I  must  stay  where  I  am — 
for  how  long  I  know  not — for  everything  is  dark  to 
me.  I  have  business  that  ought  to  be  done ;  I  am 
crushed  to  the  earth,  and  have  no  energy  to  travel — 
and  above  all,  I  will  not  run  away  from  my  awful 
misery  and  suffering.  I  am  quite  alone,  having  sent 
Constance  to  Lady  Strachey — and  although  this  house 
with  all  its  memories  of  love  and  life  and  happiness 
is  dreadful,  it  is  best  for  me  now  to  bear  my  loss  in 
this  way.  I  see  the  Stracheys  from  time  to  time 
and  Philpott.1  Perhaps  I  may  let  my  sister  Harriet 
Urquhart  come  next  month.  This  day  three  weeks 
ago  she  was  alive,  and  I  had  no  suspicion  of  danger 
until  10  at  night,  after  I  had  brought  her  up  to 
Carlton  Gardens  from  Strawberry  Hill  by  her  doctors 
orders — by  10  the  next  morning  she  was  gone — 
she  died  in  my  arms  without  a  sigh.  I  do  not 
understand  it  yet — there  was  congestion  of  the  lungs, 
but  the  heart  failed.  Since  1851  I  have  been  absolutely 
devoted  to  her  body  and  soul.  Since  1863  we  have 
been  devoted  to  one  another.  I  will  write  more 
another  time. 

Yours  gratefully  and  affectionately, 

Carlingford. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear, 

Chewton  Priory. 

Aug.  21.  1879. 

A  line,  my  dear  Lear,  to  thank  you  for  your 
letter.  Yes,  I  have  done  best  in  staying  here, 
although   I  suffer  terribly.     I   will  not  withdraw  my 

1  The  Vicar  of  Chewton  Mendip  Church.     A  remarkable  and 
very  able  man.    A  nephew  of  Bishop  Philpott  of  Worcester. 

223 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

word  "practical,"  my  dear  old  friend,  as  applied  to 
your  friendship,  which  is  ready  to  show  itself  in 
acts  and  in  taking  trouble.  I  knew  of  your  very 
great  misfortune  at  San  Remo,  but  not  the  full  extent 
of  it — not  how  utterly  the  hotel  had  spoilt  your  house 
and  garden.  I  hope  you  are  better  than  when  you 
wrote,  and  the  eye  mending.  Don't  go  to  New 
Zealand  without  full  consideration.  If  I  am  alive 
in  January  and  you  are  at  San  Remo,  or  to  be  got 
at  elsewhere,  perhaps  I  may  see  you.  The  Cler- 
monts  *  came  here  yesterday — very  kind  and  affection- 
ate— but  the  contrasts  are  heartbreaking. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Monte  Generoso, 

Mendrisio,  Canton  Ticino, 
Suisse. 

Sept.  9,  1879. 

I  have  got  several  good  drawings  of  various  spots, — 
old  George  Cocali  carrying  a  huge  portfolio  as  in 
early  days,  and  sitting  quite  still  for  2  or  3  hours  at  a 
time  with  the  aid  of  a  cigar.  (George  is  greatly 
interested  by  the  "  Life  of  Jesus  Christ," — as  set 
forth  in  the  very  curious  groupes  at  the  14  chapels  : — 
but  he  is  exercised  fiercely  about  the  possible  baptism 
of  the  Madonna,  and  asks  me  if  her  son  baptized  her, 
or  if  John  the  Baptist  did?  or  if  it  were  necessary  to 
baptize   her  at  all?" — To  which   I   answer  gravely, 

"  Etc  ravTt}v  rrjv  KaracTTacriv  17  aju,<j>ifio\ia  uvai  KaXr^repa  wapa 
rrjv  /3e/3  a  lorrjra, — Stort  eig  fiiaa  ttjq  EvayyeXiag  $lv  svptGKZTai 
TiiroTe  KaOapbv."  2 

1  See  p.  93. 

2  "  In  this  our  mortal  state  doubt  is  better  than  certainty, — be- 
cause in  the  Gospels  one  finds  nothing  which  is  perfectly  clear." 

224 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

Poor  old  George  has  got  into  wonderful 
health  once  more, — along  of  the  Monte  Generoso 
air  and  food, — but  he  is  greatly  aged  and  is  no 
longer  "  come  era  "  l — any  more  than  his  master.  .  .  . 

The  festa  of  the  Madonna  at  this  place  was  also 
a  wonder  in  its  way  some  3  hundred  thousand  people 
from  all  parts  of  North  Italy  came  up  the  hill,  and 
for  all  this  vast  crowd  there  was  needed  no  soldier 
or  police  whatever ! !  I  should  be  glad  to  know 
what  "  Protestant "  collection  of  such  numbers  can 
say  as  much  ?  .  .   . 

I  shall  be  very  glad  to  know  how  you  are  one 
day.  I  suppose  the  constant  failure  of  the  unique 
quickness  of  intelligence  which  she  had, — must  be 
one  of  the  greatest  trials  (as  contrasts),  you  have 
to  suffer.  Apart  from  the  affection  of  one,  (so 
suddenly  divided  from  his  other  half  as  it  were,) 
thus  cruelly  ended  in  this  world, — the  terrible  ceas- 
ing of  your  intellectual  comfort  and  sympathy  with 
her  must  indeed  be  hard  to  bear. 

Of  your  coming  south  there  will  be  time  to  write. 
God  bless  you,  my  dear  40scue. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear, 

Chewton  Priory. 
Bath. 

Oct.  6.  1879. 

...  I  expect  my  R.  C.  sister  Harriet  Urquhart 2 
and  her  two  girls  today  for  a  few  days,  before  she 
returns  to  Montreux.  She  is  an  admirable  character, 
with  unbounded  powers  of  venerance  and   devotion, 

1  As  he  was.  a  See  p.  204. 

225  P 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

and  no  sense  of  probability  or  criticism.  But  "  sacred  be 
the  flesh  and  blood,  to  which  she  links  a  truth  divine." 
That  reminds  me  of  In  Memoriam.  I  always 
was  fond  of  it — but  during  these  dreadful  three 
months  it  has  been  constantly  in  my  hands.  I  have 
found  it  soothing  and  strengthening  both  by  its  varied 
experience  and  expression  of  sorrow  and  loss,  and 
by  the  deep  inward  trust  in  God  and  a  future  life 
which  is  worked  out.  I  am  grateful  to  its  author, 
and  I  wish  you  would  take  an  opportunity  of  telling 
him  so.  But,  my  dear  Lear,  my  loss  is  terrible  to 
bear — what  you  say  of  what  I  must  feel  the  want 
of  is  very  true,  but  only  a  part  of  the  truth.  Her 
delightfulness  as  a  companion  was  only  exceeded 
by  her  wonderful  touching  unselfish  love. 

Lear  to  Carlingford. 

19.  October  1879. 
The  loneliness  of  this  place  now  is  frightful  to 
me :  there  is  no  possibility  of  intellectual  converse 
with  Riviera  people — who  only  think  of  money,  money, 
money.  I  don't  believe  there  are  six  of  the  town 
people  who  wouldn't  believe  me  if  I  told  them  that 
Calcutta  was  inside  Madras,  and  both  of  the  cities 
in  Bombay,  with  Australia,  Japan  and  Jamaica  all 
distinctly  seen  from  the  shore. 

Lear  to  Carlingford. 

21  December  1879. 

My  dear  Fortescue, — I  was  very  glad  to  get  yours 

of  the  15th,  and  to  hear  of  your  plans.     I  can  well 

understand   how   leaving    those    homes — particularly 

Chewton — troubles  you,    but   nevertheless    I    believe 

226 


>  •§  ° 

<;  «  ^ 

&  -3  "i 

§  §  1 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

the  move  to  Cannes  will  be  the  very  best  thing  for 
you  under  all  circumstances.  When  you  get  there, 
write  to  me.  I  do  not  think  I  can  come  to  meet 
you  there,  but  I  will  come  to  Mentone  {Hotel  du 
Pare)  and  we  would  drive  back  here.  .  .  . 

However  as  you  have  more  trouble  than  I,  I  will 
try  to  be  a  good  boy  and  as  cheerful  as  possible.  We 
will  go  and  see  Ceriana — Taggia  and  what  not. 

In  January  Lord  Carlingford  left  England 
for  Cannes,  for  the  marriage  of  the  present 
editress,  Lady  Waldegrave's  niece  and  adopted 
daughter,  to  Sir  Edward  Strachey's  eldest 
son.  He  then  passed  on  to  a  long-promised 
visit  to  Lear  at  San  Remo,  taking  rooms 
at  the  Hotel  Londres  quite  near  to  the 
Villa  Emily.  He  saw  much  of  Lear  and  took 
walks  with  him,  and  the  two  lonely  men 
were  mutually  benefited  by  this  sojourn  to- 
gether. But  Carlingford  found  the  horrible 
bugbear  of  the  Hotel  was  really  preying  on 
his  friend's  mind,  and  welcomed  the  building 
of  the  new  Villa  Tennyson.  He  was  called 
away  from  San  Remo  to  Montreux  by  the 
sudden  illness  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Urquhart. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Emily.    San  Remo. 

30//*  March,  1880. 
Your  letter  from  Veytaud,  which  came  yesterday 
morning,  was  a  relief,  as  I  had  fully  expected  from 

227 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

the  manner  in  which  Mrs.  Urquhart's  doctor  wrote  to 
have  worse  instead  of  better  news.  I  sent  your  letter 
to  Constance.  She  and  Eddie  are  coming  to  lunch  with 
me  today,  which  is  very  amiable  of  them.  We  are  to 
have  a  Pilaff,  a  roast  fowl  and  some  squints  with  pears. 
I  regret  to  state  that  they  never  got  any  marmalade,  for 
the  porter  of  the  Londres  to  whom  was  committed  the 
potly  perquisite,  declared  that  the  pot  fell  down  and 
was  broken  and  the  contents  lost :  a  catastrophy  which 
may  or  may  not  have  occurred.  I  am  also  sorry  to 
tell  you  that  there  is  no  longer  any  hope  of  my  being 
able  to  forward  to  England  that  old  gentlemen  who 
watched  over  my  pease  and  Beans, — for  2  nights  ago 
the  wind  blew  him  down,  and  his  head  and  one  leg 
came  off,  so  that  he  is  not  in  a  condition  to  travel.  .  .  . 


2.  3*.  s&/ 


&^4~ 


"sr 


These  young  people  have  made  themselves  very 
agreeable,  and  George  had  made  a  good  luncheon. 
Constance  has  read  me  part  of  your  letter,  which  gives 
a  better  account  of  poor  Mrs.  Urquhart.  .  .  . 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

April  Phiffth  1880. 

...  I  have  been  very  glad   to  know  that  Mrs. 

228 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

Urquhart  has  improved  in  health.  ...  I  am 
always  so  glad  that  Sanremo  was  such  a  suitable  place 
for  you,  and  I  miss  you  "quite  too  awfully" — as 
Baring  says  is  the  proper  term  for  anything  superla- 
tive. ...  As  for  the  pot  of  marmalade,  Giorgio 
jumped  to  the  same  conclusion  as  yourself — viz. — that 
if  the  marmalade  did  not  lie  on  the  ground,  the 
Porter  did.  .  .  . 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Hotel  des  AlpeSj 

Montreux, 

April  19,  1880. 

One  line  to  tell  you  what  will  surprise  you,  though 
not  more  than  it  does  me, — namely  that  I  start  for 
England  today,  and  expect  to  be  in  London  tomorrow 
evening.  I  had  not  reminded  anyone  in  the  political 
world  of  my  existence  and  really  expected  and  hoped 
to  be  let  alone,  but  a  letter  came  two  days  ago  from 
Lord  Granville  hoping  that  I  should  return  to  public 
life,  and  virtually  calling  on  me  to  do  so  ;  he  also 
mentioned  Harrington's  wishes.  This  letter  gave  me 
four  and  twenty  hours  of  the  most  painful  perplexity  and 
struggle  of  mind  that  I  have  ever  gone  through,  but  I 
ended  by  answering  that  if  an  office  were  offered  to 
me  in  which  I  could  be  useful,  I  would  not  refuse  to 
work,  and  having  taken  this  step,  I  feel  it  would  be 
foolish  not  to  return  to  England  at  once.  I  dread  the 
prospect  of  this  plunge  more  than  I  can  tell  you,  but  I 
fear  still  more  to  refuse  an  opportunity  of  work  which 
comes  so  utterly  unsought, — I  think  I  should  not  be 
satisfied  with  myself.  But  the  sense  of  having  to 
decide  and  undertake  all  this  alone  is  very  terrible  to 

229 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

me.  Possibly  nothing  may  be  offered  that  I  would 
take — we  shall  see.  This  for  the  present  must  not  go 
beyond  yourself.  I  look  forward  to  seeing  you  in 
London. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Emily, 

2  is/  April  1880. 

My  dear  40SCUE, — I  had  already  written  an  en- 
vellope  to  Hotel  des  Alpes,  and  was  sitting  down  to 
write  to  you,  very  uneasy  at  not  hearing  from  you, 
and  thinking  Mrs.  Urquhart  might  be  worse,  when 
your  note  of  the   19th,  came. 

My  delight  is  not  to  be  expressed. — I  am  only  too 
glad  there  is  no  chance  of  my  seeing  Lord  Granville 
or  Lord  Hartington  at  present, — for  though  I  know 
neither  personally  I  should  certainly  embrace  them 
both  with  effusion.  .  .  . 

I  trust  to  be  in  London  by  the  27th.  When  you 
can  write,  send  a  line  to 

care  of  Franklin  Lushington,  Esq., 
33  Norfolk  Square,  W. 


^r^^-  ^/tti^  <f  <&**£, 


230 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

33.  Norfolk  Square  W. 
June  jth  1880. 

Here's  a  shindy !  Bush 1  is  become  a  Bankrupp !  and 
as  F.  Lushington  ain't  home  I  don't  know  what  to  do 
— a  big  paper  is  sent  to  me  as  a  Creditor — shall  I  have 
to  go  to  prison  ? 

Yesterday  at  Lady  Ashburton's  2  I  saw  my  "  Crag 
that  fronts  the  even  " — let  into  the  wall  in  a  vast  black 
frame  all  the  room  being  gilt  leather!  Never  saw 
anything  so  fine  of  my  own  doing  before — and  walked 
ever  afterwards  with  a  nelevated  and  superb  deport- 
ment and  a  sweet  smile  on  everybody  I  met. 

33.  Norfolk  Square  W. 

June  nth  1880. 

Last  Saturday  and  Sunday  I  was  at  Bimbledon  if 
not  Wimbledon  ;  with  Gussie  Parker  and  her  poor  hus- 
band. She  certainly  is  an  admirable  creature,  and  now 
I  know  all  the  circumstances  of  old  Lord  Westbury's 
marriage,  and  of  her  own,  I  admire  her  more  than  ever.  3 

A  good  many  of  my  drawings  and  paintings  are  sold, 
but  not  enough  to  balance  my  dislike  of  London, — the 
expense  of  coming — framing  etc.,  etc.,  and  my  horror 
of  the  dark  and  filthy  climate. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Christmas  Day, 
1880. 
I  was  glad  to  get  your  word  of  good  wishes  yester- 
day, which  I  return  with  all  my  heart.     But  anything 
approaching  to  joy  or  hope  in  this  world  at  all  events, 
is  for  me  altogether  impossible.  .  .  . 

1  His  publisher.  a  At  Kent  House,  Knightsbridge. 

3  Lord  Westbury  died  1873. 

231 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  have  been  reading  about  you  lately  in  an  old  diary 
of  '57,  when  you  stayed  with  me  at  Red  House,1  and 
painted  there  two  Corfus  and  an  Athos,  and  just  after- 
wards I  was  with  you  more  than  once  at  Strawberry, 
and  you  sang  one  night  in  the  gallery,  lighted  by  a 
single  candle,  those  to  me  now  dreadful  words  "  Oh 
that  'twere  possible,  After  long  grief  and  pain  " — and 
you  told  me  what  a  wonderfully  delightful  creature 
you  thought  her. 

Lear  to  Carlingford. 

Villa  Emily.    Sanremo. 

23  Feby  1881. 

George — for  whom  you  kindly  enquire,  is,  I  am 
thankful  to  say,  better  in  health  than  he  has  been  for 
3  or  4  years — but  just  now  in  sad  distress  as  you  will 
hear  presently.  Little  Dimitri  his  boy  is  as  good  as 
he  can  be,  but  also  very  sad.  .  .  . 

But  alas !  for  good  Giuseppe,  my  gardener  for  5 
years, — after  whom  you  also  kindly  enquire  ;  he  died 
yesterday  and  was  buried  to-day.  The  loss  to  us  is 
not  to  be  told,  for  not  only  was  he  thoroughly  honest, 
active,  and  punctual,  industrious  and  intelligent, — but 
he  was  also  constantly  cheerful  and  obliging,  and  poor 
little  Dimitri's  only  companion.  Old  George,  who  is 
a  man  by  no  means  given  to  complimentary  phrases — 
says — "  Se  mai  un'uomo  era  quasi  quasi  lo  stesso  come 
un  angelo,  era  lui."  2     And  he  says  often,  "  in  all  these 

1  i^ed  House,  Ardee,  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Ruxton,  Lord  Car- 
lingford's  aunt,  and  left  to  him  at  her  death  (see  remarkable 
account  of  her  by  Lear,  vol.  i.,  p.  53). 

2  "If  ever  a  man  was  very  nearly  the  same  as  an  angel,  it 
was  he." 

232 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

five  years  Giuseppe  has  never  once  had  to  be  blamed 
for  anything  either  of  omission  or  commission."  All 
the  town  say  he  was  the  steadiest  and  best  of  all  the 
youth,  and  even  now  it  seems  a  dream  that  we  can  see 
him  again  no  more  here.  For  up  till  last  Saturday 
evening  he  was  at  work  as  usual,  although  he  had 
a  cold, — brought  on  by  his  unhappily  having  kept 
working  in  the  rain  with  bare  feet.  On  Sunday  this 
settled  into  Rheumatism,  and  on  Monday  Dr.  Angelo 
told  me  he  could  hardly  have  a  chance  of  life,  as 
Tetanus  was  commencing.  And  early  on  Tuesday 
the  poor  good  lad  died. 

This  morning,  after  the  funeral,  I  gave  ioo  francs 
to  his  mother  to  pay  all  expenses  of  burial  and 
Doctors,  and  I  try  for  some  consolation  in  losing  so 
good  a  servant,  by  thinking  I  have  always  treated  him 
well.  Indeed  I  know  that  he  has  been  heard  to  say, 
"  Mio  padrone  e  un  Signore  che  sarebbe  un  piacere  di 
servire  senza  paga." l  I  am  going  to  try  another 
gardener — recommended  by  Pia  Gullino,  but  we  shall 
long  miss  merry  little  Giuseppe  even  if  his  successor 
be  good,     (he  was  only  21). 

Villa  Emily.    San  Remo. 

$th  March  1881. 

Happily  his  place  is  already  filled  up  and 
I  hope  satisfactorily, — by  a  friend  of  the  lad  who  is 
gone,  and  who  was  with  him  at  Pia  Gullino's  (the 
Florists)  for  2  years.  Pia  Gullino  recommends 
this  Youth  (Erasmo  Parodi),  as  being  full  of  good 
qualities,  and  old  George  says — having  well  observed 

1  "  My  master  is  a  gentleman  whom  it  would  be  a  pleasure  to 
work  for  without  being  paid  for  it." 

233 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

him — "  Sara  buono,  siccome  ha  una  faccia  sincera,  e 
perche  lavora  sempre  e  parla  poco."  1  I  send  you  a 
Photograph  of  poor  Giuseppe  which  I  think  you  may 
care  to  see  if  not  to  keep. 

Summer  found  the  painter  for  the  last  time 
in  England,  amidst  the  bustle  that  he  detested, 
paying  his  usual  round  of  visits  to  the  North- 
brooks,  Tennysons,  Lushingtons,  Husey 
Hunts,  to  Gussie  Parker  (Bethell)  and  her 
paralysed  husband,  and  a  host  of  others. 
London  he  found  more  hateful  than  ever, 
he  was  "  horribly  exasperated  by  the  quantity 
of  respirators  or  refrigerators  or  percolators 
or  perambulators  or  whatever  those  vehicles 
are  called  that  bump  your  legs  with  babies 
heads.  There  are  also  distressing  Bycicles 
and  altogether  the  noise  and  confusion  so 
bewilder  me  that  I  have  little  knowledge  of 
my  personal  identity."  The  bankruptcy  of 
the  publisher,  in  whose  hands  were  the  Corsica 
and  Nonsense  books,  did  not  improve  matters, 
and  he  returned  to  the  Riviera  in  no  cheerful 
frame  of  mind. 

Of  his  new  villa  the  faithful  George  writes 
"The  new  House  he  go  on  like  one  Tor- 
toise." 

1  "  He  will  be  good,  as  he  has  an  honest  face,  and  because  he 
always  works  and  does  not  talk  much." 

234 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

Lord  Car  ling  ford  to  Lear. 

Bournemouth. 

April  10.  81. 

One  line  to  tell  you  myself  the  event  which  you 
will  have  seen  reported  in  the  papers,  that  W.E.G. 
has  offered  me  the  Cabinet  place  vacated  by  the 
Duke  of  Argyll's  resignation  of  the  Privy  Seal. 

The  sudden  and  unexpected  coming  of  this  invi- 
tation upset  me  more  than  I  can  tell  you — and  it 
is  indeed  a  painful  effort  to  force  myself  back  into 
the  world  without  my  only,  my  perfect  companion 
of  the  inmost  heart,  but  employment  is  good  for 
me,  and  I  felt  that  I  had  no  right  to  refuse.  I 
have  a  most  friendly  welcome  from  Northbrook 
already.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  we  shall  be 
colleagues.  I  saw  the  Governor  of  the  Bank  of 
England  (you  know  who  that  is — H.G.)  l  yesterday — 
and  never  saw  a  man  so  delighted  as  he  was  at  my 
return  to  office. 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Emily.    Sanremo. 

12  April.  1881. 

I  am  so  immensely  delighted  this  morning  to  see 
by  the  paper  that  you  have  become  Privy  Seal  instead 
of  the  Duke  of  Argyll.2  I  had  the  envellope  of 
this  written  to  answer  your  last  of  March  21st,  but 

1  Henry  Riversdale  Grenfell,  elected  Governor  of  the  Bank 
of  England  in  April,  1881.  He  had  been  M.P.  for  Stoke-upon- 
Trent.  Carlingford^  greatest  friend,  dating  back  long  before 
his  marriage. 

2  Lord  Carlingford  succeeded  the  Duke  of  Argyll  as  Lord 
Privy  Seal  in  April,  1881. 

235 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

now  I  am  in  such  a  runcible  state  of  mind  by  this 
news,  that  I  must  postpone  writing  a  regular  reply 
for  a  bit. 

Besides  the  pleasure  I  have  in  knowing  you  will 
be  in  constant  various  interesting  employ,  and  in 
continual  contact  with  old  friends,  I  am  so  delighted 
that  you  have  so  much  higher  a  post  than  the  Agri- 
cultural "  Imposition." 

Though  indeed  I  am  very  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  what  you  have  to  do  as  Lord  Privy  Seal.  One 
thing  is  however  certain,  and  reflects  honour  on  my 
foolish  self  for  congratulating  you — since  if  you  had 
been  Board  of  Trade,  I  might  have  hoped  to  get 
that  board  some  day  for  artistic  uses  when  you  had 
done  with  it,  whereas  the  Privy  Seal  is  I  suppose 
all  gold  and  hamythists  and  hemeralds. 

My  love    to    Northbrook   and   kiss    the    Duke   of 

Argyll  from  me. 

Villa  Emily.    San  Remo. 
14.  April  1881. 

I  wrote  with  a  ludicrous  violence  directly  I  heard 
of  your  acceptance  of  the  Post  the  D[uke]  of  Argyll 
had  vacated  ;  and  after  two  days  I  am  still  happy 
that  you  have  done  so,  in  so  far  as  I  feel  sure  that 
regular  occupation  and  being  again  connected  with 
so  many  of  your  oldest  friends  and  of  your  own 
position,  must  needs  do  you  good.  I  may  also 
(although  a  dirty  Landscape  Painter,)  add  that  it 
is  not  disagreeable  to  me  as  an  Englishman  that 
high  places  should  be  filled  by  persons  who  have 
what  your  dear  Lady  called  a  "statesmanlike  mind" 
— than  by  such  as  my  very  constant  and  kind  friend 
the  Duke  of  Argyll,  whose  mind  is  distinctly  not  so. 

236 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

One  of  my  friends  (who  knows  a  good  deal  of 
events  and  men)  writes :  "  I  am  sorry  that  Lord 
C[arlingford]  is  going  to  back  Mr.  Gladstone]  in 
measures  which  are  so  violent  as  even  to  have  choked 
off  the  extreme  MacAllumMore," — but  I  cannot 
altogether  agree  with  this,  because  in  the  position 
you  now  occupy,  it  seems  to  me  that  you  may  be 
a  means  of  preventing  the  rapid  descent  of  dema- 
gogues to  depths  we  shall  not  easily  rise  from. 

I  ain't  a  going  for  to  write  a  sermon  on  Politics  : 
a  man  who  is  only  an  outsider  cannot  be  competent 
to  do  so.  Nevertheless  one  may  have  one's  little 
thoughts  on  the  doings  of  politicians,  and,  not  to 
speak  of  observations  which  she  who  is  gone  once 
made  to  me — just  after  the  passing  of  the  Irish 
Land  Bill,  my  opinion  of  Mr.  Gladstone]  as  the 
leader  of  a  great  country  has  long  been  made  up  in 
my  foolish  mind,  from  many  sources,  and  all  that 
has  happened  in  the  last  two  years  fully  bears  out 
Her  prognostications  and  confirms  the  correctness 
of  Her  estimation  of  character. 

The  Minister  Lord  Aberdeen  once  said  : — "  Eng- 
land, and  perhaps  other  countries,  will  ever  be 
governed  by  whoever  can  talk  best  and  most." 
And  my  notion  is  that  certain  good  men  would  not 
act  with  such  a  one,  did  they  not  conscientiously 
think  that  any  Tory  Government  would  be  worse 
than  any  Liberal  or  Radical  one  could  possibly  be. 
But  as  I  said  before,  landscape  painters  are  not  bound 
to  be  Politicians,  although  I  could  not  wholly  credit 
Sir  G.  Briggs  and  others  who  loudly  proclaimed 
the  impossibility  (two  years  ago)  of  Mr.  Gladstone] 
wishing   to   take   office   again.     And   respecting   the 

237 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Transvaal,  I  cannot  help  seeing  that  Col.  Kruger* 
quotes  Mr.  Gladstone]  as  distinctly  evoking  revolu- 
tionary feelings  by  his  Mid-Lothian  speeches  : — nor 
can  I  help  reading  the  speeches  of  a  well-known 
and  tried  Liberal,  Sir  J.  Lubbock,  asjto  the  character 
of  the  Boers.  Neither  is  my  forlorn  head  able  to 
shunt  itself  off  from  the  vast  mass  of  testimony  in 
favour  of  Candahar's  being  retained  2  : — and  if  I  am 
told  "  Lord  Lawrence  thought  otherwise,"  I  cannot 
help  reading  that,  (when  Sir  John  L[awrence])  his 
opinion  was  completely  set  aside  by  Lord  Canning 
on  the  occasion  of  his  recommending  our  retreat 
from  the  Punjaub,  advice  which  three  such  men  as 
Chamberlain,  Baird  Smith,  and  Nicolson,  stigmatized 
as  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  mutineers  by  lower- 
ing our  prestige. 

I  am  glad  you  liked  my  sending  you  poor  little 
Giuseppe's  likeness.  I  have  put  up  a  little  tablet 
at  his  grave,  and  am  much  in  favour  of  all  gregarious 
gardeners.  Giuseppe's  successor  does  very  well, 
though  he  has  not  all  Joseph's  good  qualities, 
what  though  he  knows  more  names  of  flowers. 

I  have  really  begun  5  of  the  300  Tennyson  illus- 
trations, but  as  yet  with  little  success.  .  .  .  When  the 

1  The  Boers  of  the  Transvaal  were  in  full  revolt,  and  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  Transvaal  was  much  condemned  by  the  opponents 
of  the  Government.  Sir  J.  Lubbock  advocated  it  as  a  check 
to  the  tyranny  of  the  Boers  over  the  natives.  Mr.  Kruger  at  this 
time  was  Vice-President  of  the  Boer  leaders  and  Brandt 
President. 

2  The  Indian  policy  of  the  Government  attracted  more  in- 
terest in  the  House  of  Lords  than  elsewhere,  Lord  Lytton  and 
Lord  Cranbrook  advocated  the  retention  of  Candahar,  whereas 
Lord  Northbrook  opposed  it. 

238 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

300  drawings  are  done,  I  shall  sell  them  for  ,£18,000  : 
with  which  I  shall  buy  a  chocolate  coloured  carriage 
speckled  with  gold,  and  driven  by  a  coachman  in 
green  vestments  and  silver  spectacles, — wherein, 
sitting  on  a  lofty  cushion  composed  of  muffins  and 
volumes  of  the  Apocrypha,  I  shall  disport  myself 
all  about  the  London  parks,  to  the  general  satis- 
faction of  all  pious  people,  and  the  particular  joy 
of  Chichester,  Lord  Carlingford  and  his  affectionate 
friend,  Edward  Lear. 

The  new  Villa  Tennyson  is  nearly  done,  and  the 
old  flower  supporting  arches  are  all  removed  hence 
and  put  up  there.  8  men  is  a  digging  and  a  manur- 
ing all  day — and  costs  16s.  a  week.  In  the  house 
here,  abomination  of  desolation  begins  to  show, 
for  56  immense  cases  already  hold  all  books  and 
drawings.  .  .  . 

NB.  You  need  not  kiss  the  Duke  unless  you 
wish. 


Note.  (Queen's  message  to  Mr.  Grey)  This  re- 
lated to  some  comments  of  mine  on  Sir  T.  Martin's 
life  of  P[rince]  Albert — which  were  shown  to  H.  M. 
and  which  H.  M.  was  pleased  to  say  gratified  her. 
By  which  knowledge  this  child  was  also,  though  very 
unexpectedly — gratified. 

239 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Villa  Emily, 

San  Remo, 

April  15/&,  1881^ 

Carissimo  Signore  Phoca  Privata, 
(which  properly  translated  is, 
My  dear  Lord  Privy  Seal), 
I   send  you  two  photographs   which   I    think   you 
will  like  to  have.     That  of  old  Giorgio  is  certainly 
excellent,  and  they  say  mine  is  so  also. 

Villa  Tennyson. 
Sanremo. 

Riviera  de  Genova. 
Italia. 

2.  June.  1881. 

In  the  intervals  of  business  claimed  by  that  Phoca, 
please  write  me  only  one  line,  by  way  of  good  omen, 
as  I  want  you  to  be  one  of  the  first  to  send  to 
me  in  my  new  house.  I  left  Villa  Emily  two  days 
ago,  and  am  at  the  Hotel  Royal  for  feeding  and 
sleeping,  but  go  to  the  V.  T.  to  unpack  all  day. 
George,  with  pots  and  pans  comes  on  Saturday. 
I    am  somewhat  better   in  health  but  far  from  well. 

If  you  happen  to  have  a  copy  of  the  photograph 
of  dear  Lady  Waldegrave — that  with  a  white  Parasol, 
I  should  very  much  like  one. 

P.S.  I  liked  your  speech  in  reply  to  Lord  Car- 
narvon.1 The  stupid  papers  said— "  this  was  the 
first  time  Lord  Carlingford  had  spoken  as  Privy 
Seal  " ;  as  if  you  had  been  speaking  constantly  for 
two  years. 

1  I  can  find  no  mention  in  the  Times  of  this  speech.  Lord 
Carnarvon  spoke  on  the  Transvaal  question  on  May  nth,  but 
Lord  Carlingford  did  not  take  part  in  the  debate. 

240 


w   ^ 


9  .8 


II 


Q  w 

*  I 

en  "5 

en  A 

5  s 

§  a 

°  3, 

en  J 

W  ? 

O  03 

2 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

You  may  suppose  the  Farquhars  visit  was  a  great 
pleasure  to  me. 


Lord  Car  ling  ford  to  Lear. 

Balmoral  Castle. 

June  7.  81. 

...  I  write  a  line  to  send  you  at  once  my  best 
and  warmest  wishes  for  the  Villa  Tennyson,  and 
for  your  prosperity  and  happiness — at  all  events 
for  your  peace,  within  its  walls.  I  did  not  expect 
to  hear  so  soon  of  your  migration  having  taken 
place.  You  must  have  an  immense  amount  of  trouble 
and  labour  and  bother — which  I  wish  you  well 
through.  At  all  events  you  have  no  longer  that 
great  white  wall  before  your  eyes — and  you  can 
look  over  the  Mediterranean. 

I  am  looking  on  a  very  different  scene — Scotch 
hills  sprinkled  with  snow.  I  arrived  here  on  duty 
a  week  ago  today,  and  the  weather  was  beautiful 
for  some  days,  but  winter  has  returned.  The  Queen 
is  most  gracious,  and  everyone  kind  from  H.  M. 
downwards,  but  I  shall  be  delighted  to  get  away. 
I  hope  to  be  in  London  before  the  end  of  the  week. 
Even  taking  this  as  a  party  in  a  country  house, 
I  am  very  unfit  for  it.  I  long  for  the  end  of  the 
Session,  when  I  can  get  away  to  the  Priory.  The 
Castle  contains  the  Princess  Beatrice,  Prince  Leopold, 
two  nice  little  Princesses  of  Hesse  (daughters  of  the 
Princess  Alice),  Miss  Pitt,  Miss  Lambert,  Lady  Ely, 
Col.  Byng,  Sir  H.  Ponsonby  etc  : 


241 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Hotel  Mendrisio, 

Mendrisio.    Canton  Tessin 
Suisse. 

31  July  1881. 

As  I  am  going  to  try  tomorrow  to  get  up  to 
Monte  Generoso,  and  as  I  may  tumble  down  half- 
way up  and  eggspire  in  spite  of  any  help  old  George 
and  his  son  may  be  able  to  give  me, — I  shall  use 
up  this  sheet  of  paper,  which  has  fallen  out  of  my 
writing  case,  and  which  I  knew  I  had  begun  to 
write  on  but  had  mislaid. 

Mostly  in  these  days  I  have  been  thinking  about 
dear  Arthur  P.  Stanley,1  and  I  wish  I  could  lay 
my  hands  on  all  his  letters.  In  one  of  the  latest 
he  reminds  me  of  how  we  went  together  to  St. 
Kiven's  cave  in  Ireland  ann.  1834.  And  in  another 
he  says  (after  the  death  of  Mary  Stanley)  "  many 
friends  send  me  condolences  ;  but  I  ask  myself,  ->— 
should  not  a  man  to  whom  God  has  given  such 
a  Mother,  such  a  Wife,  and  such  a  Sister  as  I  have 
had, — rather  look  for  congratulations  ?  " 

Altogether  I  have  not  known  in  my  life  of  fifty 
odd  years  among  various  characters,  any  one  so 
thoroughly  a  real  Christian  as  Arthur  was.  While 
I  write  comes  a  letter  from  your  Phoca  predecessor 
Duke  of  Argyll,  chiefly  about  a  drawing  of  Damascus 
I  had  sent  him.  He  writes  "The  dear  Dean  is 
an  immense  loss  to  me  as  to  hundreds  of  others. 
We  shall  never  again  see  anyone  the  least  like  him." 

1  See  p.  191.  Dean  Stanley  died  on  the  18th  of  July,  1881, 
and  was  buried  beside  his  wife  in  Henry  VII.'s  Chapel. 

242 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

The  Duke  says  that  Lady  Frances  Baillie  *  lies  in 
great  danger,  and  I  do  not  write  as  yet  to  Catherine 
Vaughan  or  Eleanor  Tennyson  till  I  hear  how  things  go. 

The  little  bitter  fools  who  point  out  that  the  "fuss  " 
made  about  A.  P.  S.  is  explained  by  his  being  of 
a  "  high  rank  "  family,  and  that  his  principal  claim 
to  notice  was  his  having  written  many  "  interesting 
and  pleasing  books,"  are  quite  welcome  to  their  com- 
ments. The  Positivists  hated  him  heartily, — as  did 
such  men  as  Bishop  Lincoln,  Denison  and  others, — 
all  for  similar  reasons — viz,  that  he  could  view  human 
nature  through  other  than  narrow  spectacles.  How 
for  very  shame  Wordsworth — who  opposed  him 
always — could  open  his  lips  in  praise  of  him  I 
cannot  understand  :  my  own  feeling  is  that  the  man 
who  refused  a  Dissenting  minister  a  tombstone 
marked  "the  Rev."  was  not  fit  to  black  the  shoes 
of  Dean  Stanley.  In  many  respects  Arthur  was 
not  like  a  priest,  for  he  was  tolerant  of  all  creeds 
and  thoughts,  which  hardly  any  priests  have  ever 
been, — vide  the  Inquisition,  Calvinism,  &c.  &c.  &c. 
Catherine  S.2  was  the  least  interesting  of  the  Alderley 
Rectory  circle,  and  now  all  are  gone,  she  only  ex- 
cepted,— the  B[isho]p  and  Mrs.  S.,  Mary,  Owen, 
Arthur,  and  Charley. 

I  have  had  a  windfall  just  lately,  the  sale  of  an 
old  picture  by  me  at  Christie's, — a  Philae.  So  I 
am    sending   £$   to   poor   little    Underhill,3    who   is 

1  Lady  Frances  Anne  Baillie,  daughter  of  the  7th  Earl  of 
Elgin,  and  aunt  of  Eleanor  Tennyson.  She  was  a  Lady-in- 
Waiting  to  H.R.H.  the  Duchess  of  Edinburgh. 

*  Wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Vaughan,  Head  Master  of  Harrow. 

3  His  lithographer. 

243 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

badly  off  and  has  been  ill.     (If  you  hear  of  anyone 
wanting  a  portrait  copied,  U.  can  do  that  well.) 


Hotel  Monte  Generoso.    Mendrisio. 
Canton  Tessin.    Switzerland. 

22nd  August  1 88 1. 

I  was  vastly  pleased  to  get  your  letter  of  the  1 7th 
yesterday,  as  I  did  not  expect  you  to  write,  con- 
sidering all  the  fuss  you  have  to  live  in.  That  the 
Land  Bill l  has  at  length  passed  must  be  a  great 
relief  to  you.  Regarding  your  share  in  its  becoming 
law,  there  seems  no  difference  of  opinion  whatever. 
Even  one  of  the  bitterest  enemies  of  Gladstone  and 
his  Government  writes  to  me  "  Lord  Carlingford 
throughout  this  affair  has  seemed  to  me  as  the  most 
sensible,  clearheaded,  conciliating  and  statesmanlike 
exponent  of  a  measure  I  dislike."  I,  an  ass,  have 
been  much  struck  with  the  said  qualities  in  your 
speeches, — though  I  do  not  understand  the  matter 
a  bit. 

You  must  be  right  in  not  going  into  Somerset- 
shire for  a  few  days  only,  since  you  are  to  go  to 
Balmoral  on  the  4th.  When  there,  if  Miss  Stop- 
ford  is  with  the  Q[ueen],  you  would  find  Sanremo  a 
subject  you  could  both  know  of.  Miss  S.  passed  a 
longish  time  there,  and  naturally  all  the  donkies  said 
she  had  come  to  look  out  for  a  house  that  H.  M.  could 

1  The  Land  Bill  of  1870  had  been  a  failure  ;  in  the  new 
one  the  principle  of  lt  the  three  F's  " — fair  rents,  free  sale,  and 
fixity  of  tenure — was  conceded.  The  Bill  was  discussed  for 
months.  In  the  House  of  Lords  the  second  reading  was  moved 
by  Lord  Carlingford  in  a  very  able  speech  ;  the  debate  having 
occupied  the  entire  Session,  the  Bill  was  finally  passed  in  August, 
1881. 

244 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

go  to.  But,  as  you  are  aware,  Sanremo  has  no  privacy 
whatever,  and  the  Q[ueen]  could  not  possibly  be  com- 
fortable in  a  stay  there  as  on  L.  Maggiore.  .  .  .  The 
Duke  of  Argyll  is  a  kindhearted  man,  and  no  mistake. 
I  hope  his  second  marriage  l  will  be  a  happy  one.  Of 
dear  Arthur  Stanley,  I  must  add  a  word,  spite  of  the 
Duchess's  opinion.  In  the  very  last  letter  he  wrote,  I 
find  these  words  relating  to  my  Tennyson  illustrations  : 
"  In  old  Oxford  days,  Mrs.  Grote  used  to  call  me, 
1  the  Poet  of  Ecclesiastical  History,'  she  would  have 
called  you  '  the  Painter  of  Poetical  Topography.'  " 

I  know  very  well  how  sad  you  must  continue  to 
feel ;  but  work  is  the  very  best  palliative  or  antidote 
you  can  have.  Even  with  me  there  are  constantly 
cropping  up  recollections  of  Milady's  sayings,  or  of  her 
various  qualities.  One  of  those  was  her  very  extra- 
ordinary intuitive  perception  of  what  was  beautiful  in 
Landscape.  She  always  "  spotted" — so  to  speak — the 
most  interesting  I  had,  and  a  few  days  back,  as  I  was 
making  a  little  drawing  of  "  Tor  di  Schiavi,"  I  remem- 
bered how  she  liked  that  picture.  It  used  to  be  at 
Chewton. 

Of  Morier,2  as  he  is  now  Minister  in  Spain,  would 
you  recommend  me  to  make  a  rush  there,  and  see 
Granada  and  Seville  &c.  &c.  under  his  ambassadorial 
shadow  ? 

I  think  of  staying  here  till  the  second  week  in  Sep- 

1  The  Duke  of  Argyll's  second  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  ist 
Bishop  of  St.  Albans  and  widow  of  Col.  the  Hon.  Augustus 
Henry  Archibald  Anson,  V.C. 

2  Robert  Morier,  an  old  friend  of  Lear's,  had  a  long  and 
useful  diplomatic  career  ;  from  Madrid  he  went  to  St.  Petersburg 
as  ambassador  in  1884  till  his  death  in  1893. 

245 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

tember.  ...  As  for  old  George,  he  is  perfectly  changed 
since  he  came  up,  and  seems  ten  years  younger  at 
least.     Speaking  of  age,    I   do  not  think  you  knew 
Edward  Trelawny,  who  has   just  gone  set.  89, — the 
last  of  the  trio  of  which  Byron  and  Shelley  were  the 
other  two.     I  used  to  see  him  pretty  constantly  for- 
merly at  dear  Digby  Wyatt's,  and  he  always  talked  to 
me  a  good  deal  because  I   knew  all   his   haunts   of 
Greece.     Also,  speaking  of  age,  the  late  Lord  Derby 
gave  me,  when  I  went  to  Rome  in  1837,  an  introduc- 
tion to  a  Mr.  Earle  of  Liverpool,  then  residing  there. 
Mr.   E.  had  one  daughter  who  just  then  married  a 
magnificent  Scotch  Colonel,  much  older  than  herself, 
— he   being   far   over    50,    she    perhaps    30.       Lady 
Georgina  Grey  l  writes  to  me  that  this  same  Colonel 
(Caldwell)  has  just  taken  rooms  "  for  the  summer" 
at  Aix  les  B[ains], — he  being  in  very  hearty  good 
health  (though  blind),  and  in  his  99th  year  !  .  .  .  Write 
whenever  you  can  and  whenever  you  can't. 

P.S.  The  great  drawback  here  is  the  noise  of 
children.  There  are  about  a  hundred  people  at  meals, 
and  the  row  of  forty  little  ill-conducted  beasts  is  simply 
frightful. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 
16th  October  1881. 

I  see  by  my  paper  of  today  that  "Lord  Carlingford 
has  gone  to  his  residence  at  Teddington."  Now,  that 
means  Strawberry  :  I  have  heard  for  some  time  past 
that  you  are  going  to  sell  it  to  Brassey,  but  as  you 
never  named  this  to  me,  I  took  no  notice  of  the  report, 
any  more  than  I  do  of  all  others  I  hear, — such  as,  e.g. 

1  Lady  Georgina  Grey,  sister  of  the  3rd  Earl  Grey. 
246 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

one  at  a  table  d'hote  (nearly  a  year  ago  ! !),  when  I 
heard  a  man  loudly  affirm  that  you  were  to  be  married 
immediately  to  Lady  S l 

I  wish  to  inform  you  of  two  fax  (or,  if  you  prefer  to 
spell  that  word,  say  facts),  ist,  do  you  know  there 
was  an  Earl  of  Carlingford  living  in  Ireland  not 
twenty  years  ago  ?  Also  that  he  had  a  daughter, 
"Lady  Emily  Swift"  (whom  my  informant  had  fre- 
quently met).  Both  father  and  daughter  are  now 
dead,  and  only  a  few  people  ever  called  them  by  the 
above  named  titles, — as  the  Earldom  was  given  by 
James  the  2nd — about  1700  a.d. 

The  2nd  of  the  fax  is  this.  An  acquaintance  of 
whom  I  saw  a  great  deal  in  India,  and  who  was  very 
amiable  to  me  there,  came  over  from  Nice  to  lunch 
with  me  last  week.  While  he  was  looking  at  some 
drawings,  his  profile  being  towards  me,  I  was  struck 
11  all  of  a  heap "  by  the  likeness  of  the  eyes  and 
upper  part  of  the  face  to  your  Privy  Phoca-ship.  As 
I  could  not  but  observe  that  he  remarked  the  manner 
in  which  I  examined  him,  I  thought  it  better  to  explain 
why  I  did  so,  as  it  might  have  been  considered  ill- 
bred.  Whereon  I  said,  "  I  was  so  struck  by  the 
likenes  of  the  upper  part  of  your  face  to  that  of  a 
friend  of  mine,  Lord  Carlingford,  that  I  could  not  help 
observing  it  markedly." 

Whereon,  said  my  friend, — "Well;  I  don't  know 
that  I  ever  heard  the  likeness  noticed  before,  but 
our  great  grandmother  was  one  and  the  same  person  ; 
so  a  family  resemblance  is  not  at  all  impossible." 

1  There  were  many  false  rumours  of  the  re-marriage  of 
Carlingford,  which,  when  he  heard  of  them,  greatly  annoyed 
him. 

247 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

This  individual  was  Lord  Ralph  Kerr r ;  but  it  had 
never  occurred  to  me  that  Antrim  and  Lothian 
Kerrs  were  the  same  lot.  I  wish  his  wife — grand- 
daughter of  a  person  who  was  very  kind  to  me  in 
former  days — Sir  Edmund  (afterwards  Lord  Lyons) 
had  been  able  to  come  here  too. 


Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear, 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 

Oct.  20.  1881. 

.  .  .  When  I  was  on  the  point  of  being  made  a 
Peer,  I  had  a  letter  from  a  Mr.  Swift  protesting 
against  my  taking  the  title  of  Carlingford.  I  wrote  to 
Sir  Bernard  Burke,  and  he  assured  me  that  there 
was  no  one  who  had  the  faintest  claim  to  it.  Your 
discovery  of  a  likeness  between  Lord  Ralph  Kerr 
and  myself  is  curious,  The  Lady  Lothian2  in  ques- 
tion (who  was  a  Miss  Fortescue)  was  a  beauty,  painted 
by  Sir  Joshua.  My  dear  old  Lady,3  when  a  child, 
lived  with  her  for  a  time. 


1  Lord  Ralph  Drury  Kerr,  heir-presumptive  to  the  Marquisate 
of  Lothian,  married  Lady  Anne  Fitzalan- Howard,  daughter  of 
the  14th  Duke  of  Norfolk. 

2  Elizabeth,  only  daughter  of  Chichester  Fortescue,  Esq.,  of 
Dromiskin,  co.  Louth,  by  the  Hon.  Elizabeth  Wellesley,  eldest 
daughter  of  Richard,  1st  Lord  Mornington,  and  aunt  of  Arthur, 
Duke  of  Wellington. 

3  Anna  Maria  Fortescue,  married  W.  P.  Ruxton,  Esq.,  of  Red 
House,  Ardee,  co.  Louth.  Carlingford's  old  aunt  was  niece 
to  Lady  Lothian,  being  the  younger  daughter  of  her  eldest 
brother,  Thomas  Fortescue,  Esq.,  of  Dromiskin. 

248 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    San  Remo. 

2yd  October,  1881. 

You  won't  be  pleased  to  know  that  I  have  been  ill 
again,  and  that  the  frequent  fits  of  faintness  and 
increasing  weakness  have  made  their  impression  on 
me.  This  morning  I  felt  so  ill  that  I  resolved  to  tell 
old  George  how  probable  it  is  that  I  may  be  called 
away  quite  suddenly, — both  because  I  think  those 
about  one  ought  not  to  be  left  in  the  dark  as  to  what 
goes  on,  and  because  I  wanted  him  to  know  where  my 
Will  was  to  be  found,  and  to  tell  him  it  is  to  be  held 
fast  by  him  until  in  the  hands  of  one  of  my  three 
Executors, — F.  Lushington,  Bernard  Husey-Hunt,  or 
Hubert  Congreve.  (Meanwhile  the  said  Will  can't 
be  found  anywhere,  but  I  suppose  will  turn  up  some 
day.)  Poor  old  George  went  to  Sanremo  at  once,  and 
got  a  tin  mould  in  which  he  made  a  pudding  of  bread 
and  custard  no  French  chef  could  have  surpassed, — 
"  for,"  said  he,  "only  tea,  tea,  tea  is  not  proper." 
Whether  from  the  pudding  or  what  is  unknown, — but 
just  at  present  I  am  most  certainly  rather  better.  .  .  . 

As  for  Strawberry  Hill,  that  is  only  another 
instance  of  the  folly  of  giving  credence  to  reports. 
I,  also,  wish  you  could  sell  it,  but  I  did  not  know  you 
could  do  so.  At  Monte  Generoso  another  absurd 
report  was  talked  of,  and  as  I  was  appealed  to,  I 
was  obliged  to  reply, — though  as  to  Strawberry  Hill 
and  Lady  S.  you  may  suppose  I  held  my  peace. 
Some  people  at  table  got  to  talking  about  A. 
Tennyson.  "  Mrs.  T."  said  a  man,  "  is  the  Gardener's 
Daughter  of  his  poem."     Someone  demurred  to  this, 

249 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

and  a  third  called  to  me — as  known  to  be  acquainted 
with  $ — as  to  whether  the  fact  was  so  or  not. 
"  Not  at  all,"  said  I,  "  Mrs.  Tennyson  was  a  Miss 
Selwood,  a  niece  of  Sir  John  Franklin."  "That  may- 
be," said  the  obstinate  speaker,  "  for  T.  was  married 
before  the  present  Mrs.  T's  time,  but  the  present 
Mrs.  Tennyson — his  second  wife — was  the  gardeners 
daughter,  as  I  am  in  a  position  to  know."  So  I  said 
no  more ;  but,  writing  to  Eleanor  Tennyson,  (who  has 
written  to  me  beautifully  about  her  dear  good  Uncle 
Dean  Stanley)  she  says  how  amused  they  all  are  with 
this  bosh,  which  I  had  retailed  to  them. 

Lord  Airlie's  l  death  was  very  sad :  fancy  my  re- 
membering Lady  A.  as  a  little  girl,  and  giving  her 
drawing  lessons.  I  am  grieved  to  hear  about  Lord 
Clermont  and  Irish  bother.  Without  going  into 
"  poltiks,"  I  suppose  everyone  will  allow  that  the 
wickedness  of  Irish  doings  for  more  than  a  year  past 
can  hardly  have  been  exceeded  in  any  mediaeval  time 
or  times.  You  may,  or  you  may  not  agree  with  me, 
but  as  an  outsider  and  by  nature  and  habit  a  Liberal, 
I  have  a  set  feeling  that  gross  and  violent  Radicals 
ought  never  to  govern  or  help  to  govern  any  more 
than  virulent  Tories.  It  is  true  that  an  outsider  can- 
not know  the  difficulties  of  a  government — whom  they 
should  propitiate,  include,  or  exclude ;  but  that  don't 
alter  my  opinion  that  those  who  strive  to  set  class 
against  class,  and  are  as  violent  in  their  speech  as  they 
are   crooked  in   their   principles  ought   not — if  it   is 

1  The  Earl  of  Airlie  died  suddenly  on  September  25th  in 
Denver  City,  Colorado,  where  he  was  on  a  visit  with  his  son. 
He  was  the  7th  Earl,  and  had  married  a  daughter  of  the  2nd 
Lord  Stanley  of  Alderley. 

250 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

possible  to    prevent    their    being   so — to    be    trusted 
with  power.  .  .  . 

It  may  well  be,  however,  that  you  and  a  few- 
more  conscientiously,  believe  that  the  weight  of 
your  own  characters  outbalance  the  Demagogue 
authority.  And,  as  I  said  before,  none  but  those 
who  are  really  behind  the  wheels  and  springs  of 
governing   power,    can   fully  account  for  what  takes 


place.  Puzzles  is  puzzles :  —  among  others,  the 
absurdity  of  the  Opposition  papers  ridiculing  the 
"  Naval  Promenade "  as  folly  and  vanity,  whereas 
to  me,  the  surrender  of  Dulcigno '  appears  the  steady 
and    well-conceived    action    of    one     of    the     most 

1  A  naval  demonstration  had  failed  to  procure  the  cession 
of  Dulcigno  early  in  1880.  It  was  finally  surrendered  to  the 
Montenegrins  at  the  end  of  November. 

251 


so 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

powerful  ministers  our  country  ever  had,  inasmuch 
as  by  the  cession  Russia  was  given  a  port  on  the 
Adriatic  (or  Mediterranean) ;  for  it  is  impossible  to 
deny  that  Montenegro — the  country  of  savage 
mutilators — is  as  much  a  part  of  Russia  as  Hesse- 
Darmstadt  is  of  Germany.  (If  Sir  G.  and  Lady  B. 
heard  this  said,  they  would  shout  with  laughter  and 
ridicule,    but   if  you   left   the   room,   they  would   go 

SjC^^Afe?      Equally  a   puzzle  it  is  that  Lord 

Salisbury  last  week  said  "it  did  not  matter  to 
Europe  one  pin  if  Montenegro  got  a  bit  of  land 
north  or  south" — whereas  the  position  made  all 
the  difference  possible. 

Yrs.  Affey. 

Edw.  Lear. 

Saith  the  Poet  of  Nonsense 
11  Thoughts  into  my  head  do  come 
Thick  as  flies  upon  a  plum." 

31s/  October.  1881. 
Ten  days  ago,  if  you  had  been  here,  you  would 
— as  I  nearly  did, — have  half  fallen  off  your  chair 
for  laughing, — for  all  at  once  good  old  George 
came  in,  and  standing  before  me  said:  "Master, 
I  come  say  something."  I  thought  it  some  fresh 
bother  about  his  sons,  and  I  said — "Very  well, 
George,  say  on." — "  Master,  /  think  you  take  more 
wine  than  be  is  good  to  you!"  said  G.,  in  almost 
the  same  words  used  by  another  friend  twenty  four 
years  ago.  But  I  found  that  he  had  discovered 
that  the  shop  Marsala  I  have  been  drinking  to  be 

252 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

half  spirits.  Yet,  as  I  had  drunk  it  with  Appollinaris, 
I  did  not  find  that  out.  He  had  suspected  it  by 
its  smell,  and  putting  a  spoonful  near  the  fire,  it 
all  flared  up.  So  I  merely  take  one  glass  at  lunch 
in  one  of  his  wonderfully  good  puddings — bread  or 
rice — (my  whole  luncheon) ;  and  at  6.30  I  have 
a  glass  or  two  of  red  wine  of  the  country.  This 
diet  has  evidently  agreed  with  me,  and  I  have  not 
only  got  generally  better,  but  have  slept  well.  Old 
George  is  astonishingly  well,  and  delighted  at 
getting  poor  Nicola  into  his  place  as  underwaiter 
at  a  small  new  hotel — a  du  Midi."  No  father  can 
ever  have  been  more  unselfish  and  affectionate  than 
this  good  Albanian.  .  .  . 

I  have  put  out  all  my  sketches  of  Ravenna  today, 
to  work  from  on  the  four  oil  paintings  I  am  hoping 
to  finish.  The  two  galleries — one  exactly  like  that 
at  Villa  Emily,  the  other  a  room  only  for  the  $ 
designs — are  pretty  well  ready  as  to  hooks  and 
laths  for  hanging ;  but  only  twelve  of  the  Tennyson 
designs  are  at  all  far  advanced.  .  .  .  The  big  Athos 
I  have  been  altering  greatly,  and  nearly  destroying 
in  parts.  Do  you  remember  that  large  Ilex  tree 
on  the  left?  That  is  all  painted  out,  because  I 
found  I  had  not  studied  Ilex  enough  for  so  im- 
portant a  sized  effect ;  and  instead  Pinus  Maritima, 
which  I  have  studied,  is  to  grow  instead.  .  .  . 

I  knew  you  would  not  blow  me  up  about  my 
political  maunderings,  because  you  are  of  the  few 
who  understand  this  queer  child.  My  dear  North- 
brook  don't,  and  once  wrote  to  me  about  "the 
Turks,  of  whom  you  think  so  highly" — meaning 
the  Turkish  Empire.     Now,  no  one  has  ever  heard 

253 


Later  Letters   of  Edward   Lear 

me  say  a  word  in  favour  of  the  Turks  as  Government 
or  Governors.  I  always  "held  them  abominable/' 
But  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  that  opinion, 
and  the  stirring  up  bad  and  narrow  feeling  by 
screaming  that  "  all  Turks  are  unmentionable  and 
brutes,"  and  that  "  Russians  are  tolerant  and  the 
forefront  of  civilization."  On  the  contrary,  the  mass 
of  the  Turkish  people — not  their  governors — is 
honest  and  noble :  and  the  Russian  is  the  beau 
ideal  of  intolerance  and  lying.  The  wicked  cruelties 
of  the  Russians  have  ever  been  kept  unremarked 
by  those  who  have  yelled  at  facts  scores  of  times 
less  shocking.  It  is  vain  to  say  that  Bulgaria  is 
not  Russian,  and  perhaps  the  outspoken  raptures 
of  extreme  Gladstonian  principles  express  their  con- 
ditions well, — as  when  our  low  church  parson  Fenton 
says  "Mr.  G.  is  the  person  appointed  to  spread 
the  Gospel,  and  in  no  case  can  he  promote  that 
blessing  more  widely  than  by  aiding  the  Russians 
to  possess  Constantinople.  .  .  ." 

I  read  that  you  had  been  speaking,  and  rejoiced  ; 
because  (though  I  didn't  read  what  you  spoke)  I 
feel  sure  that  exertion  is  the  best  thing  for  you. 
The  life  of  "endurance"  may — or  rather  will,  have 
its  blessings,  as  probably  She  also  may  even  now 
know.  I  must  read  Walpole  again  before  long. 
When  that  ass,  ever  so  long  ago,  said  he  "knew" 
you  were  going  to  marry  Lady  S.  "almost  directly," 
I  felt  inclined  to  throw  a  glass  of  water  in  his  face, 
but  providentially  didn't. 


254 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

Sth.  November.  1881. 

I  shall  be  very  glad  of  Arnold's  book.1  I  had 
thought  one  Levi  (or  latterly  known  by  some  other 
name)  was  the  Editor  of  the  Daily  Telegraph. 
In  any  case  I  have  been  subscriber  to  that  paper 
for  some  twenty  years,  and  have  always  thought 
it  among  the  best  published.  Indeed  I  once  wrote 
to  the  Editor  suggesting  the  publication  in  separate 
forms,  of  the  leading  articles  on  various  toppix. 
But  they  paid  no  attention  to  this  dirty  Landscape 
painter. 

12th.  November,  1881. 

I  am  so  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  lovely  book 
the  "  Light  of  Asia."  I  have  not  yet  quite  read  it 
through,  but  two  thirds  have  shown  me  that  it  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  noble  poems  of  later 
English  literature.  Some  of  the  descriptions  are 
wonderful,  but  one  must  have  been  in  Injy  to  fully 
appreciate  many  of  them.  To  me,  it  appears  to 
want  a  glossary ;  I  and  others  may  know  what 
Devas  and  Rishtis  and  what  not  mean,  but  the 
many  do  not.  If  ever  I  meet  with  this  Edwin 
Arnold  I  shall  go  down  plump  on  my  knees.  As 
it  is,  I  am  about  to  turn  Buddhist  as  fast  as 
possible,  if  not  sooner.  With  regard  to  the  Author 
as  the  Editor  of  the  Daily  Telegraph  I  now  do 
not  wonder  at  the  greatly  improved  calibre  of  that 
paper,  which  I  have  taken  in  since  1 855.2  "  nave 
always  however  maintained — and  latterly  more  than 

1  See  next  letter. 

2  Sir  Edwin  Arnold,  K.C.I.E.,  C.S.I.,  was  on  the  staff  of  the 
Daily  Telegraph  from  1861,  and  later  Editor  in  Chief  for  some 
years. 

255 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

ever — that  the  D.  T.  is  worth  all  the  other  papers 
put  together  for  interest  and  originality  combined. 
As  a  ninstance,  I  take  up  the  paper  of  two  or  three 
days  ago,  and  send  what  I  have  cut  out,  i.e.  the 
Leading  Articles, — and  a  bit  or  two — haphazard,  as 
a  fair  specimint  of  the  ordinary  paper.  (It  is 
horridly  true  that  the  pestilential  postman,  or  the 
newsvendor  in  London,  has  given  a  brutal  smell  of 
paint  to  this  particular  copy,  so  I  hope  it  won't 
make  you  ill.) 

I  have  a  delightfully  long  letter  from  dear  good 
Baring  today,  from  Balmoral.  Distinctly  there  is 
no  doubt  Northbrook  is  an  A.  No.  i  man,  and  a 
friend  of  friends.  I  had  written  to  him  on  the  very 
day  (the  8th)  he  had  been  writing  to  me,  which  is 
symphonious  and  symphographic. 

Only  think !  Admiral  and  Lady  Robinson l  and 
Miss  Louis,  are  all  coming  here  (next  week,  I 
believe)  for  the  whole  winter.  When  they  wrote  to 
me  of  this  (which  I  had  no  reason  to  expect)  I  stood 
on  my  head  for  four  minutes  successfully.  I  am 
better  in  health  these  four  days  past. 

Yours  affly, 

Edward  Buddh. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory. 
Bath. 

Bee.  21.  1881. 

How  are  you  ?  I  must  have  a  word  with  you  at 
this  Christmas  time.      I  hope  your  bad  weather  has 

1  Lady  Robinson's  younger  sister,  both  daughters  of  Admiral 
Sir  John  Louis,  2nd  Bart.,  a  distinguished  seaman. 

256 


^ 


WATER-COLOUR   OF   "BECKY,"   ADMIRAL  SIR   SPENCER  AND   LADY 
ROBINSON'S  PARROT. 


San   Remo  and  Switzerland 

not  continued,  and  that  you  have  not  been  without  the 
soothing  magic  of  the  "  soft  Mediterranean  shore." 
Sometimes  in  my  desolate  life  I  long  to  escape  to  those 
influences  and  still  more  to  your  companionship,  but  I 
have  my  work  to  do  here  and  must  endure.  Besides 
I  am  always  fancying,  and  fancying  in  vain,  that  some- 
thing different  from  the  life  of  the  moment  would  be 
more  endurable.  .  .  . 

I  was  glad  to  find  that  you  enjoyed  Edwin  Arnold's 
Indian  poem.  I  felt  sure  that  you  would.  I  have  just 
found  among  my  dear  Lady's  papers  copies  of  his 
Oxford  Prize  Poem.  How  well  I  remember  it !  she 
heard  him  recite  it  in  the  Theatre,  asked  him  to  Nune- 
ham,  praised  the  young  poet — and  he  dedicated  his 
first  volume  of  verse  to  her  which  I  to  please  her,  re- 
viewed very  favourably.     Such  is  life  and  love. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    San  Remo. 

12.  February,  1882. 

All  at  once  I  find  a  letter  of  your's  not  marked 
"  answered,"  the  date  being  November  7.  1881.  But 
on  looking  at  my  Letter  List  I  find  I  wrote  on  Decem- 
ber 21  and  25,  so  that  I  must  have  omitted  to  write 
answered,  if  not  to  destroy  your  last  letter.  On  the 
whole,  as  the  morbid  and  mucilaginous  monkey  said 
when  he  climed  up  to  the  top  of  the  Palm-tree  and 
found  no  fruit  there,  one  can't  depend  upon  dates.  .  .  . 

30.  March,  1882. 
I  had  hoped  you  might  be  coming  to  Mentone,  but  I 
generally  find  that  both  Newspaper  reports  and  private 
ditto  are  not  worth  much.     Lord  Spencer  will  remem- 

257  R 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

ber  me  as  a  friend  of  Lady  Sarah's  old  governess,  dear 
good  Miss  Dennett.  There  have  been  already  many 
absurd  rumours  about  H.M.  coming  here,  and  the 
other  day  over  a  hundred  owly  fools  came  up  and 
stood  all  about  my  gate  for  more  than  an  hour  !  but  on 
finding  that  no  Queen  came,  went  away  gnashing 
their  hair  and  tearing  their  teeth.  I  hope  if  H.M. 
does  come,  I  shall  be  told  of  the  future  event  before  it 
comes  to  pass,  as  it  would  not  be  pretty  to  be  caught 
in  old  slippers  and  shirt  sleeves.  I  dislike  contact 
with  Royalty  as  you  know ;  being  a  dirty  landscape 
painter  apt  only  to  speak  his  thoughts  and  not  to  con- 
ceal them.  The  other  day  when  someone  said,  "  Why 
do  you  keep  your  garden  locked  ?"  says  I — "to  keep 
out  beastly  German  bands,  and  odious  wandering 
Germans  in  general." — Says  my  friend, — "if  the  Q. 
comes  to  your  gallery,  you  had  better  not  say  that  sort 
of  thing."     Says  I — I  won't  if  I  can  help  it.  .  .  . 

There  seems  no  chance  of  the  Villa  Emily's  sale, 
.  .  .  it  is  becoming  a  question  whether  I  had  not 
better  sell  it  for  ^2000  rather  than  keep  it.  My  former 
income  of  over  ^"iooa  year  from  ^3500  in  the  3  per 
Cents,  is  now  gone,  and  the  worry  of  getting  money  to 
pay  weekly  bills  is  not  pleasant  at  70  aet,  when  one 
had  thought  to  be  high  and  dry  above  all  bothers  of 
that  kind.  Nevertheless  up  to  the  present  Admiral 
Robinson's,  R.  Watson's,  Walter  Bethell's,  and  Arthur 
James'  small  commissions  keep  me  afloat,  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  I  may  even  yet  tide  over  difficulties 
which  at  times  seem  "  far  from  pleasant."  Anyhow  I 
have  a  vast  deal  to  be  thankful  for,  as  the  tadpole  said 
when  his  tail  fell  off,  but  a  pair  of  legs  grew  instead.  .  .  . 

I  suppose  that,  connected  as  you  are  with  Ireland, 

258 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

and  naturally  cognizant  with  Irish  politics,  you  have 
more  on  your  hands  and  in  your  head  than  the  Office 
of  Privy  Seal  generally  has  to  attend  to.  Nevertheless 
I  have  never  had  a  clear  idea  of  what  the  Privy  Seal's 
work  really  is  :  and  my  last  notion  is  that  you  have 
continually  to  superintend  seal  catching  all  round  the 
Scotch  and  English  coasts,  in  order  to  secure  a 
Government  monopoly  of  seal  skin  and  seal  calves.  .  .  . 
Sometime  back  when  I  thought  you  were  coming  out, 
I  wrote  the  enclosed  for  your  bemusement. 

Phoca  "  nonsense"  front  Lear  to  Carlingford. 

"  Una  circostanza  curiosa  e  degna  di  osservazione 
deve  anche  esser  notata,  maggiormente  perche  un 
simile  fatto  non  si  trova  nelle  fasti  di  qualunquesia 
altra  Corte  Reale. 

Prima  che  gli  invitati  vanno  alle  loro  camera, — dopo 
che  sia  partita  dalla  Galleria  la  Regina, — si  vede 
entrare,  seguitato  da  10  domestici  vestiti  di  lusso,  il 
Presidente  del  R.  Consilio, — non  per6  come  Presidente, 
ma  come  Guardiano  del  Grande  Phoca, — posto  della 
piu  alta  importanza  e  significanza,  e  dato  soltanto  ai 
piu  fidati,  literati,  dotti,  ed  amabili  Signori  della  Corte. 

Al  fianco  del  Signore  Guardiano,  e  tenuto  da  lui 
per  mezzo  di  una  catena  d'ora,  il  Phoca — che  non  ha 
piedi, — fa  un  progresso  dappertutto  la  Galleria,  e  per 
cosi  dire,  e  portato  a  fare  la  conoscenza  di  ogni 
invitati.  Ii  moto  di  questo  enorme  animale  non  si 
puo  bene  discrivere,  siccom£  la  lingua  Italiana  manca 
parola  per  ben  tradurre  '  Wallop'  o  'Flump'  verbi 
molti  addatati  al  suo  movimento,  ma  sconosciuti  da  noi 
altri  in  Italia.  Molte  Signore  si  spaventono  assai  la 
prima   volta   che  vedono  il  Grande   Phoca,  ma  gl'£ 

259 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

strettamente  vietato  di  strillare,  cioe  '  scream.' 
Quando  ha  fatto  il  giro  di  tutta  la  Galleria,  quest'- 
amabile  bestia  si  ritira  di  nuova  a  Wallop-flump, 
insieme  con  il  Lord  Guardiano ; — e  prima  di  sparire, 
quest'ultimo  da  al  Phoca  piu  di  37  Libre  di  Maccaroni, 
18  bottiglie  di  Ciampagna,  2  beefsteak,  ed  un  ballo  di 
Lana  rossa,  ossia  scarlet  worsted,  tutti  quale  cose  sono 
portate  dai  10  Domestici  in  lusso  vestiti."  * 

1  "  A  curious  circumstance  and  one  worthy  of  note  must  also  be 
recorded,  because  a  similar  fact  is  not  found  in  the  ceremonies 
of  any  other  Royal  Court  whatsoever. 

Before  the  guests  go  to  their  rooms, — after  the  Queen  has  left 
the  Gallery, — the  President  of  the  Privy  Council  is  seen  entering, 
followed  by  10  servants  in  livery,  not  however  as  President,  but 
as  Guardian  of  the  Great  Seal, — a  post  of  the  greatest  importance 
and  significance,  and  only  given  to  the  most  trustworthy,  learned, 
clever,  and  amiable  gentlemen  of  the  Court. 

By  the  side  of  the  Lord  Guardian,  and  held  by  him  by  means 
of  a  chain,  the  Seal — which  has  no  feet — makes  its  progress  all 
through  the  Gallery,  and  is  so  to  speak,  taken  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  all  the  guests.  One  cannot  well  describe  the 
motion  of  this  enormous  animal,  as  Italian  is  lacking  in  words 
that  adequately  translate  ■  Wallop  '  or  '  Flump,'  verbs  that  well 
suit  its  motion,  but  that  are  unknown  to  us  Italians.  Many  ladies 
are  a  good  deal  frightened  the  first  time  that  they  see  the  Great 
Seal,  but  they  are  strictly  forbidden  to  scream.  When  it  has 
been  all  round  the  Gallery,  this  amiable  beast  withdraws  again 
with  a  Wallop-flump,  with  the  Lord  Guardian  ; — and  before  re- 
tiring, the  latter  gives  3  Seal  more  than  37  pounds  of  macaroni, 
18  bottles  of  Champagne,  2  beefsteaks,  and  a  ball  of  scarlet 
worsted, — all  of  which  are  brought  by  10  servants  in  livery." 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

10th.  April.  1882. 

On  Tuesday  the  4th,   Lord  Spencer  (having  pre- 
viously written  a  note   telling  me   he  was  coming), 
came  over  from  Mentone  at  1  p.m.     Old  George  got 
as  good  a  lunch  as  bephitted  the  occasion,  (a  Nomlet 
and     sardines,     and      cold 
Tongue,)  and    I   think  the 
President    of    the    Council 
enjoyed   it.       He    was,    as 
always,      very      nice      and 
cheery,  and  Spencery,  and 
I  was  very  glad  to  see  him, 
all  the  more  that  he  talked 
a    good    deal    about    you, 
who  I  am  glad  to  know  go 
out  more  nor  you  did. 

Naturally,  he  was  not 
likely  to  speak  decidedly 
either  one  way  or  the  other 
about  H.M's  coming  here, 
but  I  could  gather  that  she 
was  not  likely  to  do  so,  all 
the  rather  that  I  had  heard 
that  most  probably  she 
would  not,  from  another 
quarter.  To  you,  who 
know  me  pretty  well,  I  can  ^^^r^^4  /J&Q 
safely  say  that   I   am  glad 

she  did  not,  for  all  courtier  necessities  are  odious  to 
this  child. 

I  suppose  it  was  known  who  Lord  Spencer  was,  for 
after  his  visit  the  most  outrageously  ridiculous  reports 

261 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

were  spread  about  the  Q's  coming  to  see  my  Gallery. 
Among  the  most  absurd  was  one  that  old  George  had 
been  busy  for  two  days  and  two  nights  making 
immense  quantities  of  Maccaroon  cakes  ;  for  said  the 
Sanremesi,  "it  is  known  that  the  Queen  of  England 
eats  maccaroon  cakes  continually,  and  also  insists  on 
her  suite  doing  the  same.  And  there  is  no  one  in  all 
Sanremo  who  can  make  maccaroon  cakes  except 
Signor  Giorgio  Cocali."  I  told  George  of  this  who 
laughed — a  rare  act  on  his  part ;  and  said  :  "  to  begin 
with,  I  don't  even  know  what  a  maccaroon  cake  is  like 
and  never  saw  one  to  my  knowledge." 

I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  you  are  back  from  Ireland, 
the  which  disastrous  country  pleaseth  me  not. 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

May  2.  1882. 

On  the  15th  comes,  I  trust,  Franklin  Lushington 
to  stay  ten  days  or  so.  After  that  clouds  of  uncertainty 
surround  the  future.  I  shall  not  have  strength  enough 
to  reach  Monte  Generoso  any  more,  though  if  I  could 
do  so,  without  doubt  the  air  might  do  me  good. 
Possibly  I  shall  continue  here  and  subside  gracefully 
into  the  Sanremo  Burrowing-ground  or  Cemetery.  I 
have  lately  had  another  bad  attack  of  illness,  but  have 
sprouted  up  again  for  the  present,  and  work  a  good 
deal  at  times.  .   .  . 

It  was  odd  enough  to  talk  about  Tullymore  with 
Lord  Roden,  Newcastle  and  the  Morne  Mountains. 
For  all  that,  I  am  glad  that  you  are  away  from  Ireland, 
a  country  which — in  spite  of  all  allowances  made  for 
the  great  sufferings  it  has  endured  for  centuries  from 

262 


San  Remo  and  Switzerland 

England, — must  ever  compete  even  with  Russia  (Mr. 
Gladstone's  land  of  religious  toleration  and  social 
liberty)  for  filthy  and  barbarous  brutality.  I  see  that 
Lord  Spencer  is  going  back  as  Viceroy,  but  I  do  not 
think  anything  of  these  changes,  believing  as  I  do  that 
nothing  will  satisfy  the  Irish  but  separation  from 
England.  .  .  . 

Foss  the  cat,  having  taken  to  sit  from  5  to  8  A.M. 
under  the  cage  of  George's  blackbird,  since  that  very 
charming  animal  took  to  singing,  we  had  very  great 
hope  of  our  cat's  aesthetic  tendencies,  and  had 
expected  eventually  to  hear  poor  dear  Foss  warble 
effusively.  But  alas !  it  has  been  discovered  that 
there  is  a  hole  in  the  lower  part  of  Merlo's  cage,  and 
Foss's  attention  relates  to  pieces  of  biscuit  falling 
through. 

Lear  to  Lord  Car  ling  ford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 

July  2,  1882. 

Your  letter  of  the  29th  has  just  come,  and  thank 
you  very  much  for  it  :  it  is  just  like  you,  writing 
directly. 

I  had  to  write  to  Lord  N[orthbrook]  as  you  saw  on 
the  beastly  Hotel  business,  and  I  thought  you  would 
know  of  poor  George  from  him,  without  my  troubling 
you  with  a  separate  letter,  knowing  how  much  public 
worry  you  must  have. 

George's  eldest  son  Nicola,  aet.  28,  has  been  a  great 
comfort  in  this  misery.  I  sent  him  off  to  Marseilles, 
with  letters  to  the  Greek  Consul  there  on  the  27th 
and  his  unfortunate  father  was  at  length  found  on  the 
hill  above  Toulon,  where  he  had  been  for  three  days 

263 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

with  next  to  no  food,  his  shoes  cut  to  pieces,  his 
clothes  in  rags  etc.  On  Friday  the  30th  Nicola 
brought  the  poor  dear  old  fellow  back  here,  but  hardly- 
conscious.  Ameglio  the  Doctor  being  sent  for,  pre- 
scribed medicine  and  total  quiet  and  if  possible  complete 
change.  And  to-day  certainly  my  poor  old  servant  is 
better,  but  in  a  most  sad  semisane  state  yet.  He 
remembers  nothing  of  what  has  passed  in  the  last 
three  weeks.  I  could  not  think  of  sending  a 
man  from  whom  I  have  had  twenty-seven  years 
of  good  service  and  help,  either  on  to  the  world, 
nor  into  a  madhouse,  and  so,  as  Ameglio  says 
he  will  most  probably  recover,  I  am  going  to  let 
Nicola  take  him  up  to  Monte  Generosi  at  once. 
They  will  go  off  at  4  A.M.  to-morrow  and  sleep  at 
Milan,  and  Nicola  will  not  leave  him  till  I  can  go  up 
and  take  Dimitri. 

But  I  hardly  think  poor  George  can  again  thoroughly 
recover :  and  should  he  ever  drink  again  he  is  doubt- 
less lost,  for  all  his  life.1  All  this  fuss,  you  may 
suppose,  costs  money :  but  had  I  been  obliged  to  send 
him  under  surveillance  to  Greece,  that  would  have 
been  far  more  expensive  and  far  more  miserable. 

Intanto,  naughty  Lambi,  who  has  been  good  enough 
since  his  first  burst  of  sins,  and  who  is  out  of  place 
along  of  shut  Hotels,  is  with  me  as  Cook,  and  he 
cooks  as  well  as  his  Father.  Dimitri  has  come  out 
most  astonishingly  in  all  this  trouble :  markets  very 
well  and  rapidly,  keeps  the  house  in  order,  and  is 
altogether  good  and  obedient.     So  after  all  one  has 

1  Owing  to  his  troubles  and  ill-health  he  had  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life  tried  to  drown  them  in  drink  with  the  fore- 
going result. 

264 


San   Remo  and  Switzerland 

much  to  be  thankful  for,  as  the  Centipede  said  when 
the  rat  bit  off  ninety-seven  of  his  hundred  legs.  .  .  . 

I  have  still  more  to  be  thankful  for,  my  health  being 
MUCH  better.  Thanks  to  Dr.  Hill  Hassall  some  of 
my  ailments  are  gone.  I  drink  Barolo — fully  as  much 
"  as  is  good  for  me  "  by  way  of  precaution. 

With  all  this  unexpected  expense,  I  do  not  know 
what  I  should  have  done  had  not  Lord  and  Lady 
Somers  bought  a  lot  of  my  work  ;  and  as  did  later  on, 
the  ever  irrepressibly  kind  Northbrook ;  so  I  have  not 
the  additional  bother  of  worry  about  money  at  this 
moment.  Lady  Charles  Percy's  *  death  was  a  grief 
indeed  to  me.  Miss  Percy  had  been  here  only  very 
lately  and  lunched  with  me,  and  took  a  little  Venetian 
bottle  from  me  to  her  mother,  who  wrote  but  a  very 
short  while  back  to  thank  me.  She  was  the  last  of  my 
old  Roman  friends — date  1836-j.  .  .   . 

P.S.  I  fancy  my  "  Taormina  Theatre  "  is  visible 
now  at  129  Wardour  St,  an'  you  had  thyme  2  go  and 
Cit. 

1  Anne  Caroline  Greatheed,  grand-daughter  and  heir  of  the 
late  Bertie  Bertie  Greatheed,  Esq.,  of  Guyscliffe,  co.  Warwick, 
married  Lord  Charles  Percy,  8th  son  of  the  5th  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  1822.  Lord  Charles  died  in  1870,  and  Lady 
Charles  in  1882,  leaving  an  only  daughter,  Anne  Barbara 
Isabel. 


265 


CHAPTER   VIII 

August,   1882,  to  August,   1883. 

SWITZERLAND    AND    SAN    REMO. 

To  Lord  Carlingford. 

Hotel  Monte  Generoso, 
Mendrisio. 

Canton  Ticino.    Suisse. 
yist  August,  1882. 

I  OFTEN  wish  you  could  come  here,  if  only  for 
three  or  four  days  ;  the  air  is  so  invigorating, 
and  the  sunshine  and  beautiful  landscape  so  delightful. 
But  I  know  that  can't  be, — albeit  I  sometimes  wish 
you  were  elsewhere  than  at  Chewton,  where  there  are 
so  many  memories  to  sadden  you.  The  Mundellas  j 
are  all  here,  and  now  the  Spencer  Robinson's  are  gone, 
(they  are  gone  to  the  Sir  E.  Strachey's  on  Como), 
I  see  more  of  them  than  anyone.  Mary  (Miss 
Mundella)  is  wonderfully  nice  :  it  is  not  often  one  can 
walk  long  walks  with  a  person  exceptionally  lively  and 
intelligent,  yet  never  by  any  chance  fatiguing.  This 
place  just  now  is  not  unlike  the  last  Day,  or  universal 

1  Anthony  John  Mundella,  P.C.,  F.R.S.,  was  Liberal  M.P.  for 
Sheffield  from  1868,  Vice-President  of  the  Council  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education,  1880-1885,  and  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  1886  and  1892-1894. 

266 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

judgment, — such  heaps  of  unexpected  persons  keep 
turning  up.  Fanny  Kemble, — Mazini's  widow  and 
her  second  husband  Professor  Villari,1 — (Mrs.  M.  was 
a  Miss  White — her  father  once  M.P.  for  Brighton) — 
Charles  Acland  M.P. — all  the  Webbs  of  Newstead, — 
three  nice  Ladies  Hamilton  (Earl  Haddington's 
daughters,) — Cross,  widower  of  George  Eliot  or  Mrs. 
Lewes, — Sir  Somebody  Baines, — Miss  Courtenay 
etc  :  etc  :  etc  :  I  constantly  expect  to  see  the  Sultan, 
Mrs.  Gladstone,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  and  the  twelve 
Apostles  walk  into  the  Hotel.  .  .  . 

I   have  left   off  wine   totally,    by   Dr. 
H assails  order,  but  en  revanche  I  drink     ^^-i^-^/ 
surprising  quantities   of  beer,   and  shall      V^        ^\ 
bye  and  bye  become  like  this.      Never-       V^/ll^ 
theless,   as   my   health   is  so   much  im-     ^~~3L-> 
proved     I     shall    go     on    perseveringly 
beerdrinking.  .  .  . 

The  villa  is  still  unsold,  though  there  is  yet  a 
shadow  of  a  hope  that  it  may  be  bought  for  ^2500, 
and  glad  should  I  be  if  it  were  !  Not  that  our  dear 
good  Northbrook  wants  his  ^2000,  but  that  I  hate 
the  thought  of  having  borrowed  it,  notwithstanding 
when  I  did  so  the  property  seemed  safe  to  sell  for  six 
or  eight  thousand  pounds.  .  .  .  You,  of  all  persons  in 
the  world,  ought  not  to  wish  to  do  anything  more  for 
me,  since  you  haye  always  shown  yourself  a  most 
thoroughly  kind  friend,  and,  as  well  as  Milady,  have 
constantly  assisted  me.  So  even  if  I  am  in  want  of  a 
penny  bun  to  shirk  starvation,  you  are  by  no  means 

1  Professor  Pasquale  Villari,  the  celebrated  Italian  historian, 
married  Linda,  daughter  of  James  White,  and  widow  of  Signor 
Vincenzo  Mazini. 

267 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

called  on  to  give  me  one.  But,  .  .  .  Rev.  E.  Cams 
Selwyn  has  just  guv  me  a  very  pleasant  commission 
for  some  small  drawings,  and  has  besides  bought  a 
small  copy  of  my  big  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  long  ago 
left  unfinished.  Thus,  I  shall  doubtless  stave  over  the 
autumn  and  winter,  spite  of  Giorgio's  wants  and  my 
obstinate  persistence  in  not  consigning  him  to  perdition. 
It  will  not  be  the  first  time  in  the  life  of  this  "  dirty 
landscapepainter "  if  he  has  to  begin  life  again  in  a 
pusillanimous  pugnacity  of  pennilessness.  As  for  the 
big  Enoch  Arden — I  have  good  reasons  for  that 
apparent  asininity  ;  I  cannot  continually  work  on  any 
small  work — coloured  or  not,  and  I  cannot  sit  idle.  It 
is  therefore  absalomly  necessary  for  me  to  have  some 
subject  of  interest  to  grind  upon,  and  that  subject  must 
be  large  to  save  sight,  or  I  could  not  touch  it.  I  do 
not  suppose  I  shall  ever  live  to  finish  Enoch  Arden, 
nor  perhaps  to  complete  my  hundred  Tennyson  sub- 
jects, nor  to  wind  up  Gwalior,  Argos,  and  other 
commenced  paintings.  But  a  man  can  but  "try,"  and 
the  mere  act  of  "  trying  "  goes,  I  take  it,  a  long  way 
to  stave  off  mental  and  fizzicle  maladies.  I  am  greatly 
surprised  to  hear  that  Strawberry  Hill  is  still  unsold. 
I  have  heard  it  so  distinctly  stated  that  it  was  disposed 
of,  (for  such  and  such  sums,)  various  times  over,  that 
it  is  a  good  bit  since  I  have  thought  of  it  as  a  vast 
American  Hotel.  I  ought  to  have  remembered  the 
follies  of  other  reports  about  you.  (Bye  the  bye  one 
paper  had  last  week — "  The  President  of  the  Council 
on  leaving  Osborne  is  going  immediately  to  visit  Lord 
Carlingford  at  Chewton.")  .  .  . 

Agusta  Bethell's  husband,  Adamson    Parker,  died 
suddenly  three  weeks  ago,  and  she  is  now  a  widow.     I 

268 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

wish  I  were  not  so  "dam  old,"  but  I  think  71-72  will 
be  forse  troppo  avanzato.  Do  you  take  a  ninterest  in 
the  Salvation  Army  ?  I  must  say  I  do,  it  is  such  a 
queer  phase  of  human  folly.  And  the  divisions  of 
opinions  of  clergy  about  it  are  so  instructive.  .  .  . 

Did  I  tell  you  that  the  Princess  Royal  (and  Imperial)1 
came  up  here,  and  recognised  me  ?  She  was  altogether 
quite  delightful — a  real  Duck  of  a  Princess.  I  showed 
her,  her  Daughter  and  the  Crown  Prinz,2  all  the  views 
here.  .  .  . 

My  sight  of  one  eye  is  gone,  but  t'other  is  as  good 
as  ever.  .  .  . 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 
Sep.  29.  1882. 

...  I  went  up  for  a  Cabinet  on  the  day  when  the 
news  of  the  battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir3  arrived,  and 
thought  Northbrook  looking  fagged  by  his  hard  work, 
but  the  brilliant  success  in  Egypt  enabled  him  to  get 
away  to  Scotland  for  a  little.  It  is  curious  that  you 
should  know  the  route  between  Cairo  and  Ismailia  so 
well.  We  had  a  thanksgiving  prayer  in  church  last 
Sunday,  and  Egypt  sounded  curiously  Biblical — but 
such  addresses  to  the  Almighty  are  always  highly 
unsatisfactory   to   my   highly   or   deeply   unorthodox 

1  H.I.M.  the  late  Empress  Frederick  of  Germany,  at  that  time 
Crown  Princess  of  Prussia. 

2  Friedrich  Wilhelm,  afterwards  H.I.M.  Frederick  III., 
died  1888. 

3  On  the  13th  of  September  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  defeated 
Arabi  on  the  very  spot  indicated  by  him  before  leaving  England 
as  the  scene  of  the  decisive  struggle. 

269 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

mind.  It  is  strange  to  see  my  clever  and  excellent 
sister  so  devoted  as  she  is  to  her  new  church,  anxious 
to  get  her  mass  whenever  she  can,  and  so  on.  She  is 
however  quite  free  from  bigotry  or  bitterness  towards 
those  who  differ  from  her.  Next  week  my  other 
sister,  Chi  Hamilton's  mother,  will  be  here — and  she 
is  an  out  and  out  Irish  Evangelical,  with  whom  I 
probably  differ  as  much  as  or  more  than  I  do  with  the 
other.  Still  the  priestly  system  is  of  the  two  the 
greater  hindrance  to  human  progress.  The  world  will 
have  to  get  on  sooner  or  later  without  the  belief  in  any 
supernatural  religion,  but  I  do  not  see  how  humanity 
can  dispense  with  religion  of  some  kind.  There  is 
religion  in  your  big  Enoch  Arden  and  your  150 
Tennysonian  subjects.  .  .  . 

I  hate  my  nondescript  position  at  the  Council  office 
.  .  .  which  is  neither  satisfactory  to  me  nor  good  for 
the  public  service.  I  met  the  worthy  C.  Church  in 
Wells  the  other  day,  and  had  a  chat — partly  about  you. 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 

6.  October  1882 

I  highly  and  completely  agree  with  you  about  the 
thanksgivings  to  God  for  battles  won  :  if  Sir  Garnet 
hadn't  got  Tel  el  Kebeer,  who  would  have  been 
thankful  ?  Just  now  I  am  particularly  alive  to 
"  religious  "  reasoning,  Alfred  Seymour  having  sent 
me  a  little  Book  "  Christian  Theology  and  Modern 
Scepticism,"  by  the  D[uke]  of  Somerset,  with  the  very 
sage  and  moderate  conclusions  of  which  I  cannot  but 
mainly  agree.      But   I,  with  you,    "do  not  see  how 

270 


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Switzerland  and  San   Remo 


&>i 


humanity  can  dispense  with  religion  of  some  kind," — 
though  for  the  present,  it  seems  but  too  plain  that  no 
force  or  effort  can  greatly  improve  that  which  men 
follow  now.  As  the  Duke  says — "  truth  is  the 
daughter  of  time,  not  of  authority,  and  we  must  wait  a 
long  while  for  a  general 
wide  intellectual  faith  to 
permeate  all  minds.  Per- 
haps when  you  and  I  are 
cherubim  and  sit  on  a 
tree  above  the  waters  of 
Paradise,  such  a  desidera- 
tum may  happen.  Mean- 
while, I  agree  with  you 
that  my  best  religion  for  the 

present  is  my  hundred  and  fifty  Tennyson  illustrations, 
of  which  I  send  you  two  autotype  copies,  but  not  good 
ones  at  all.1  .  .  . 

I  wish  you  hadn't  to  go  to  Balmoral  at  this 
season ;  is  it  true,  as  said  in  many  papers,  that 
H.M.  has  taken  a  big  villa  at  Antibes  for  the 
winter?  If  so,  there  may  be  a  chance  of  seeing 
you  here.  .  .  . 

I  am  glad  you  saw  CM.  Church.  You  always 
seem  to  me  to  have  had  and  to  have  a  "  nice  derange- 
ment of  epitaphs,"  as  Mrs.  Malaprop  said.  Proper 
and  exact  "  epithets "  always  were  impossible  to 
me,  as  my  thoughts  are  ever  in  advance  of  my 
words.  I  recall  your  saying  of  the  Lord  Sandwich's 
family  that   they  were    "smart   people,"  and  of  old 

1  Of  one  see  the  reproduction,  vol.  i.,  p.  243,  "  Kasr  Es  Saad," 
wrongly  called  "  Gozo  " ;  the  other  was  of  Etna,  poor,  and  not 
good  enough  for  reproduction  here. 

271 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Lady  S.  "  always  civil,"  very  simple  terms  but  every- 
body don't  apply  them. 

O  please,  don't  forget  to  get  a  small  book,  published 
by  Blackwood, 

"TWIXT  GREEK  AND   TURK" 
By  Valentine  A.  Chirol. 

It  is  the  best  late  account  of  Albania,  Thessaly, 
Macedonia,  Epirus,  etc :,  written,  and  has  greatly 
interested  me. 

Lord  Carnarvon  has  just  bought  a  large  estate  at 
Porto  Fino,  opposite  Consul  Yates  Brown's  Castle. 
I  had  thought  Lord  Carnarvon  a  poor  man  but  find 
he  has  some  80,000  a  year. 

Why  don't  they  make  a  new  President  of  the 
Council  now  that  Lord  Spencer  is  so  definitely  fixed 
as  V[iceroy]  of  Ireland  ?  He  is  a  fine  man,  all  ways, 
and  works  well,  even  in  the  eyes  of  all  Polly  Titians. 
I've  left  off  beer  and  taken  to  Barolo,  and  not  much 
of  that :  dine  at  1,  and  have  "  2  Biled  Iggs  "  at  7  and 
a  biskit.  (A  rural  old  Lady  I  once  knew  used  to 
catechise  her  rustic  maidservants  on  religious  subjects. 
"  What  is  Baptism  ?  "  "  Washing  day,  ma'am,  if  it 
comes  once  a  week." — "  Good  God  !  what  an  answer ! 
Tell  me — do  you  know  what  is  the  Holy  Sacrament?" 
"  O  yes,  Ma'am — very  well.  2  Biled  Iggs  with  vater- 
cresses." — "Go!  for  heaven's  sake!")  Yet  this  is 
quite  true  and  happened  in  Sussex.  .  .  . 

The  "  Salvation  Army  " — (talking  of  Religion)  is 
one  of  the  queerest  flights  of  nonreason  in  our  day. 
Bye  the  bye,  does  not  Matthew  Arnold's  "  lucidity " 
want — as  a  term — the  very  "lucidity"  he  requires? 
So  far  as   I — aet.   70  and  6   months — can   perceive, 

272 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

"  lucidity  "  is  the  common  want  of  humanity  ;  barring 
a  very  few  exceptionals,  all  human  beings  seem  to  me 
awful  idiots. 

14  October,  1882.  (8  p.m.) 
Though  I  wrote  as  lately  as  the  6th,  various  causes 
stir — (or  as  we  used  to  say  in  Lancashire — " incense" 
me)  to  write  to  you  again.  ...  Not  but  that  I  have 
written  a  long  letter  to  Lushington  this  morning  .  .  . 
also  another  to  my  aged  sister  Ellen,  enclosing  her  a 
cheque  for  £5  for  the  benefit  of  my  remaining  brother 
Frederick  who — aet.  78 — has  left  his  home  at  St. 
Louis  to  live  with  his  daughter  at  Khansas,  but 
having  quarrelled  with  his  son-in-law,  has  set  out  to 
begin  life  again  in  Texas ! ! — whereby  I  suppose  tin 
must  be  even  more  necessary  to  them  than  to  me.  .  .  . 
Did  I  ask  you  if  you  had  ever  read  a  little  book 
"  Christian  Theology  and  Modern  Scepticism  "  by  the 
Duke  of  Somerset?  Alfred  Seymour  sent  it  me 
lately,  and  it  has  in  it  much  of  interest,  though — to 
me  at  least — nothing  of  novelty.  The  question  of 
how  to  reconcile  a  ^^-supernatural  religion  with  the 
wants  of  humanity  is  verily  a  difficulty  not  to  be  got 
over  in  our  days.  I  am  inclined  now  to  be  grateful 
for  having  no  children,  for  if  on  the  one  hand  I  could 
not  conscientiously  teach  them  that  the  "  Miracles " 
were  true, — on  the  other  I  should  shrink  from  uproot- 
ing roughly  all  their  mother-given  instructions  about 
the  Divinity  of  Christ.  Why  the  character  and 
teaching  of  Christ  should  not  by  degrees  become  as 
great  a  support  to  religious  people  as  the  doctrine  or 
dogma  of  a  supernatural  birth  it  is  provoking  to  be 
obliged  to  doubt :  yet  perhaps  they  could  not  be  so 

273  s 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

supporting  as  they  are  if  stripped  of  their  mystery. 
Che  so  io?  *  as  the  fly  said — he  was  an  Italian  fly — 
when  the  Hippopotamus  asked  him  what  the  moon 
was  made  of? 

Having  written  a  lot  of  nonsense  I  shall  go  to  bed. 
Letter  from  Lady  Strachey  from  Sestri  (Ponente)  on 
their  way  to  Cannes.  I  could  have  told  them  the 
Hotel  at  Sestri  would  disgust  them, — but  as  I  knew 
they  had  taken  rooms  there,  I  forbore  to  interfere, 


My! 

Good  night. 

Yours  paralytically, 

Edward  Lear. 

9  P.M.  I  have  the  nicest  letter  from  Sir  John 
Lubbock — and  must  write  to  him — about  Flies.  I 
had  written  a  long  Nonsense  letter  about  Flies  to  Sir 
John,  but  destroyed  it,  thinking  him  too  busy  for 
nonsense!  But  Mary  Mundella  said  "  No — he  would 
be  delighted !  "  So  now  at  her  request  I  am  going  to 
re- write  the  bosh  !  2 

Sunday  15  October.  7  a.m.  I  think  I  will  add 
half  a  sheet  of  persecution  to  the  aforewritten  lot,  for 
I  have  said  very  little  about  myself,  and  you  will  like 
to  know  something.  I  find  written  in  my  diary  for 
some  days  past,   "  Be   thankful   for  good  sleep  and 

1  What  do  I  know  ?  2  See  Appendix  C,  p.  366. 

274 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

better  health,"  and  it  is  a  pleasant  fact  that  I  am 
certainly  much  better  than  I  was  a  year  ago,  having 
only  had  one  baddish  fit  of  fainting  and  giddiness 
latterly,  and  feeling  generally  stronger.  This  however 
by  no  means  shuts  my  eyes  to  the  fact  that  I  am  one 
whole  year  nearer  to  the  end — whatever  and  when- 
ever that  may  be ;  and  there  were  times  some  months 
ago  when  I  believed  it  to  be  close  at  hand.  I  cannot 
say  I  find  any  terrors  in  the  contemplation  of  death  ; 
I  have  lived  to  ascertain  positively  that  much  of  the 
evil  of  my  life  has  arisen  from  congenital  circumstances 
over  which  I — as  a  child — could  have  had  no  control ; 
a  good  deal  too  has  been  the  result  of  various  ins  and 
outs  of  life  vagaries,  and  what  is  called  chance — 
which  chance  I  don't  believe  in,  for  if  I  did  I  must 
give  up  all  idea  of  a  God  at  all.  I  know  also  that  I 
owe  an  immensity  to  the  assistance  of  friends, — and 
neither  do  I  put  that  down  to  chance.  So,  on  the 
whole,  I  am  tolerably  placid  and  Abercrombical, 
compared  with  what  I  used  to  be. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Balmoral  Castle. 

Oct.  26.  1882. 

I  have  been  here  since  last  Friday.  .  .  .  The  two 

ladies  of  the  Household  I  found  here  are  old  friends 

of  mine,  and  of  my  Lady's,  Lady  Churchill  and  Lady 

Ely.     The  Royalties  were  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse, 

the  Duchess  of  Connaught,  waiting  for  her  Duke  to 

come  back  from  the  war,  and  the  permanent  Princess 

Beatrice.     Today  has  arrived  Colonel   Ewart,1  who 

1  Afterwards  Major-Gen.  Sir  Henry  Ewart,  K.C.B.,  G.C.V.O. 
Served  in  the  Egyptian  Campaign  ;  Groom-in- Waiting  to  H.M. 
Queen  Victoria. 

275 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

commanded  the  Household  Cavalry  in  Egypt.  Have 
you  seen  the  Comet?  A  policeman  here,  who  was 
requested  by  one  of  the  gentlemen  to  call  him  at  the 
right  time,  wrote  to  explain  his  not  having  done  so — 
because  he  said,  "masses  of  cumulus  concealed  the 
celestial  visitor."  There's  "  culture  "  for  you.  I  saw 
it  very  finely  one  morning,  without  the  cumulus. 

Oct.  29. 

I  finish  this  at  Hamilton  Place.1  I  left  Balmoral 
on  Friday.  On  Thursday  Col.  Ewart  arrived,  who 
commanded  the  Life  Guards  in  Egypt — a  quiet  cool 
soldierlike  man.  The  Queen  was  very  civil  to  him. 
After  dinner  she  rose  with  a  glass  of  wine  in  her 
hand  and  said  "  I  drink  to  the  health  of  my  House- 
hold Cavalry,  and  welcome  them  home  after  their 
gallant  services,"  which  was  very  nicely  done. 

I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  stay  here  during  a  great 
part  of  November  on  account  of  Cabinets,  but  I 
return  to  the  Priory  for  Christmas.  You  said  in  one 
of  your  letters  that  I  was  evidently  more  cheerful. 
I  am  so  at  times  when  in  society,  because  I  fall  into 
sympathy  for  the  moment  with  what  Darwin  calls  the 
environment — and  a  capital  letter  of  yours,  which  I 
was  answering,  had  the  same  effect, — but  I  have  no 
joys,  no  hopes,  no  real  companionship.  I  hate  the 
idea  of  making  any  new  beginning  in  life ;  my  only 
aim  is  to  use  whatever  remnant  of  it  may  be  left  as 

1  During  Lord  Northbrook's  residence  at  the  Admiralty 
Carlingford  lived  in  his  house,  4,  Hamilton  Place.  It  was  a 
mutual  arrangement  as  friends,  and  Lord  Northbrook's  desire 
that  Carlingford  should  at  a  nominal  rent  live  there,  was  much 
appreciated  by  the  latter. 

276 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

well  as  I  can.  I  daresay  idiotic  reports  of  matrimonial 
intentions  of  mine  reach  you.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
that  Alfred  Seymour  believed  in  them,  or  hoped  he 
might  congratulate  me.  I  think  he  must  have  in- 
cipient softening  of  the  brain  !  By  the  way,  the  other 
day  the  Queen  saw  a  photograph  of  the  memorial  in 
Chewton  Church,1  which  I  had  given  to  Lady  Ely, 
and  said  she  wished  to  have  one  and  a  copy  of  the 
inscription — about  which  she  wrote  and  spoke  to  me 
in  the  most  sympathetic  way. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    San  Remo. 

gth.  December,  1882. 

There  is  a  long  letter  from  you  unanswered,  and  I 
meant  to  have  written  long  ago — date  so  far  back  as 
October  26th,  from  Balmoral.  If  my  letters  amuse 
you,  I  ought  all  the  more  to  write,  for  you  have 
always  been  one  of  my  best  friends.  Whereon  I  will 
answer  your  last  at  once,  as  the  affectionate  Roman 
Goose  said  concerning  her  growing  gosling  daughter 
— opportet  anser.  Your  account  of  H.M.'s  toast 
about  the  soldiers  was  very  nice.  Anyhow  nobody 
can  say  she  is  not  active  in  doing  all  the  duties  of 
Royalty  in  these  later  days — and  such  duties  cannot 
be  pleasant  in  themselves — at  least  I  should  think 
them  a  bore.  .  .  .  This  letter  will  all  be  in  jumps  like 
a  fidgetty  Kangaroo,  because  they  are  putting  down 
my  carpet,  and  every  fresh  hammering  perturbs  my 
weak  mind.     I   had  a  long   letter  from   Charles  M. 

1  A  tablet  put  up  by  Carlingford  in  Chewton  Church  to  the 
memory  of  his  wife.  The  inscription  by  him  is  a  most  touching 
and  beautiful  record  of  a  great  devotion. 

277 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Church  the  other  day.  His  daughters  are  busted  out 
beautiful ;  one  has  got  a  ^35  Scholarship  (at  Cam- 
bridge, I  think),  the  other  is  a  Tutoress  at  some  high 
school,  whereon  I,  as  her  name  is  Ida,  write — "O 
Tutress  Ida,  many  scholared  Ida !  "  C.  Church  says 
he  thought  you  very  much  better  and  livelier  when  he 
last  saw  you.  The  Dean  of  Wells  and  Mrs.  Plumtre 
will  be  here:  for  the  winter ;  they  are  at  Bordighera 
now.  He  is  a  cultivated  cove ;  she — a  sister  of 
F.  Maurice.  Hardly  any  but  these  have  been  to 
my  studio,  nor  do  I  know  any  here  hardly.  .  .  . 

The  new  church  is  beginning :  the  beastliest  uglyism 
you  ever  beheld — like  a  caterpillar  with  a  Cyclops's 

head.      At  present    I    go  to  no 

ll'\JIJlL  IfWi IQQX    temp'e   built  with  hands  at  all. 

I  had  hoped  the  Duke  of  Argyll 
would  come,  but  he  writes  that  the  Duchess's  health 
forbids.  Also  the  Clowes  have  taken  a  villa  at  Hyeres. 
The  Tattons  are  at  Mentone,  and  may  come  bye  and 
bye — ditto  Gussie  Parker  (Bethell) — ditto  Mrs.  C.  Grey 
and  Mrs.  G.  Clive.  O  yes,  I  saw  the  comet  per- 
petual, and  got  tired  of  it.  I  wrote  to  Miss  Campbell 
of  Corsica  that  I  saw  her  by  its  light  quite  plainly, 
and  she  had  a  blue  and  red  box  in  her  hand,  but  we 
could  not  determine  if  what  was  inside  the  box  were 
jujube  lozenges  or  dominoes.  Hammer — jump.  My 
garden  is  vastly  beautiful,  and  if  you  would  come 
there  are  lots  of  boughs  you  might  sit  on.  The 
Eucalyptoi  are  thirty  feet  high.  My  dear  Franklin 
Lushington  came  on  the  8th  November,  and  staid  till 
the  24th — to  my  infinite  pleasure.  I  miss  him  orfly. 
Poor  old  George,  you  will  be  glad  to  hear,  is  greatly 
better,  indeed  at  present  quite  well.     I  have  Nicola, 

278 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

his  eldest  son,  in  my  service, — an  additional  expense, 
but  necessary  if  I  did  not  resolve  to  cut  all  adrift,  for 
I  did  not  like  to  stay  with  poor  George  and  the  little 
Mitri  only — for  fear  of  any  other  outbreak.  At  present 
the  whole  Suliot  family  is  at  peace,  for  No.  2 — Lambi 
— I  have  got  placed  with  the  good  Watsons,  and  they 
find  he  suits  them  capitally.  I  have  asked  Harry 
Strachey  to  come  here  for  a  little  time  in  January ;  it 
may  do  him  some  good  to  see  lots  of  topography, 
— anyhow  an  example  of  energy  and  industry  at 
set.  71.  .  .  .* 

My  own  health,  I  thank  God,  is  much  better  than 
it  was  a  year  ago.  I  am  busy — u  How  doth  the 
brittle  bizzy  bee," — as  Dr.  Watts  his  name  sings — on 
fifty  large  drawings  of  Corsica.  .  .  . 

The  two  deaths  that  I  have  been  obliged  to  think 
of  lately,  besides  my  possible  proximate  own,  are 
those  of  Lady  S.  de  Redcliffe,2  and  Archb[isho]p 
Tait.3  The  latter  was  always  most  kind  to  me,  and 
once  said  in  a  big  party,  when  I  had  been  singing 
"Home  she  brought  her  warrior"  and  people  were 
crying — "  Sir !  You  ought  to  have  half  the  Laureate- 
ship!"  That  was  in  1851,  when  he  was  Dean  of 
Carlisle.     But  apart  from  personal  motives,  I  look  on 

1  This  was  the  occasion  which  my  artist  brother-in-law  men- 
tions in  his  Appreciation  in  vol.  i. 

2  Elizabeth  Charlotte,  Viscountess  Stratford  de  Redcliffe, 
daughter  of  James  Alexander,  Esq.,  of  Summerhill,  Tunbridge 
Wells.  She  was  the  2nd  wife  of  Viscount  Stratford  de  Red- 
cliffe. 

3  Archbishop  Tait,  made  Primate  by  Mr.  Disraeli  in  1868, 
did  much  to  extend  and  improve  the  organisation  of  the 
Church  in  the  Colonies.  The  Lambeth  Conference  of  1878 
met  under  his  auspices.     He  died  December  3,  1882. 

279 


Later  Letters  of  Edward   Lear 

Archb[isho]p  Tait  as  the  finest  real  Christian  Eccle- 
siastic of  our  time.  Lady  S.  you  know  I  saw  much 
of  formerly.  You  would  have  choked  to  read  the 
announcement  of  her  death  in  a  local  Italian  paper 
(I  think  of  Genoa — )  but  anyhow  written  by  someone 
who  thinks  he  knows  the  ins  and  outs  of  English 
Literature.  "  E  morte  la  celebre  scrittrice  Inglese, 
*  Era  di  Ratcliffe ' — a  sopra  ottanti  anni.  Suo  nome 
era  'Yong,'  ma  in  riconoscenza  di  suoi  talenti,  la 
Regina  Vittoria  la  fece  Viscontessa  Ratcliffe.  Scrisse 
dei  bellissime  romanzi  fin  a  poco  tempo  fa  " ! ! ! ! !  .  .  .x 
Did  you  see  the  "  Promise  of  May  ?  "  I  can't  say 
I  admire  the  new  Courts  of  Law ;  the  building  looks 
to  me  too  scattered  and  in  parts  meschino.2  Weather 
here,  (hammer)  cold,  (jump) — not  begun  fires  (hammer) 
yet — (jump) 

Yours  (hammer) 

Affectionately  (jump,) 
Ed( jump) Ward  (Hammer)  Lear. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 
Dec.  21.  1884. 

.  .  .  Poor  Lady  Stratford  de  R[adcliffe] !  The 
Italian  newspaper  is  wonderful.  I  was  dull  enough 
not  to  see  the  meaning  of  "  Era  di  Ratcliffe "  until 
I    happened   to  compare  notes   upon   the  story  with 

1  "The  celebrated  English  authoress,  '  Era  (Heir?)  of  Rat- 
cliffe (Redcliffe)/  is  dead — at  over  eighty  years  of  age.  Her 
name  was  'Yong'  (Yonge),  but  in  recognition  of  her  talents 
Queen  Victoria  made  her  Viscountess  Ratcliffe.  She  wrote  the 
most  beautiful  novels  until  quite  recently." 

2  Poor,  shabby. 

280 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

A.  Seymour.  The  first  time  I  ever  met  Lady  S. 
was  in  the  Uffizzi — and  she  and  her  daughter  would 
not  enter  the  Tribune,  on  account  of  the  naked 
woman  who  they  heard  lived  there — the  Venus  de 
Medicis ! 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

23rd.  December,  1882. 
I  write, — as  well  as  I  can, — on  two  accounts  :  first 
to  wish  you  as  happy  a  Christmas  as  you  can  have, 
and  also  for  every  good  wish  to  you  in  the  New 
Year  at  hand.  Secondly,  I  write  to  thank  you  for 
a  book   which   came   yesterday,  and   which    I    have 


JL  Ct&*f*t   dT^bc^L 


already  read  half  through,  and  I  wrote  above — "as 
well  as  I  can,"  because  it  has  made  me  laugh  so 
I  can  hardly  see  my  pen  or  paper.  It  is  a  most 
delightful  book,  and  a  pleasant  contrast  to  what  I 
was  reading  but  have  now  shunted — Crabb  Robinson's 
account  of  Kants,  Wielands,  and  other  German  fools. 

281 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

For  it  is  they — metaphysicians — who  are  the  fools, — 
the  author  of  M  Vice  Versa  "  the  wise  man.1  .  .  . 

25  December,  1882. 

Of  all  things,  considering  the  terrible  amount  of 
suffering  ordered  for  some  inscrutable  reason  to  be 
endured  by  us  here, — of  all  things  the  most  surprising 
to  me  is  that  anyone  should  seek  to  lessen  or 
destroy  such  hopes  as  are  also  given  as  a  balance 
to  sorrow!  We  know  nothing,  but  is  that  a  reason 
we  should  not  cling  to  a  hope  of  reunion  after 
death.  If  thirty  years  ago  it  could  have  been 
demonstrated  to  my  poor  sister  the  widow  that  life 
ceased  with  this  worlds  life,  would  such  certainty 
have  made  her  more  or  less  happy  through  all  that 
time,  during  which  in  fact  she  has  constantly  looked 
forward  to  seeing  her  husband  again  after  death  ? 
I  maintain  that  those  who  diminish  hope  are  the 
worst  enemies  of  humanity — not  its  friends.  .  .  . 

This  morning  I  am  trying  to  be  thankful  that 
my  system  of  " universal  Suliot  benefaction"  looks 
promising.  George,  who  keeps  satisfactory,  has  four 
francs  apiece  for  self  and  three  sons,  to  have  a 
roast  lamb  etc  :  for  dinner  :  and  all  three  sons  have 
bought  something  as  a  small  Xmas  gift  for  their 
father,  gloves,  neckties,  etc  :  and  the  aged  Padrone 
adds  a  big  pewter  elephant  with  howdahs  for  tobacco 
and  cigar  paper.  These  objiks,  all  placed  in  a 
Nubian  platter,  are  to  be  carried  into  the  kitchen 
by  myself  and  the  three  sons,  and  I  am  to  drink 
their  health  in  a  thimblefull  of  wine.  The  two 
gardeners  also  I    have   given  a  dinner   to,  and  frcs. 

1  Anstey's  "  Vice  Versa." 
282 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

ioo  to  the  Infants'  School,  so  I  feel  better,  as  the 
Old  Lady  said  after  she  had  brought  forth  twins.  .  .  . 

I  have  already  written  that  "  Vice  Versa  "  arrived 
safely :  it  delights  me  preposterously,  and  I  fully 
believe  it  is  all  true.   .  .  . 

8  April,  1883. 

I  was  very  glad  of  your  being  made  President 
of  the  Council,  for  holding  the  two — as  it  were  two 
halves  of  office,— must  have  been  unsatisfactory. 
At  the  same  time,  I  never  liked  the  title — "  President 
of  the  Council/'  because  it  is  vague,  and  should  be 
(I  think)  of  the  Royal  Council,  or  of  the  Council  of 
Ministers,  or  what  not.  As  it  is,  if  you  were  old 
enough,  it  might  mean  you  were  President  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  or  (as  Mrs. —  .  .  said  :)  of  the 
Economical  Council  of  Pio  Nono.   .  .  . 

I    suppose — by   the   papers — that    Earl    R.1    is    to 
have    your    Privata    Phoca,    and    I 
should    like   to   portray   you   care- 
fully    giving     him     up     to     your 
successor.  .  .  . 

Some  time  ago  I  find  written  in 
my  diary — "to  whom  shall  I  leave 
all  my  thirty  years  (or  40) 
Diaries  ? "  And  I  once  thought 
it  should  be  to  you ;  but  think 
they  had  better  be  burned.  .  .   . 

You  can  have  no  idea  how  much  changed  I  am 
in  the  last  twelve  months.  As  J.  Lacaita  once  said 
to  me — "Why!  you  are  become  quite  an  elderly 
aged  old  man ! "  I  don't  know  what  additional 
epithets  (or  epitaphs)  he  would  now  use.  .  .  . 

1  The  Earl  of  Rosebery. 
283 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  hope  Strawberry  Hill  will  sell  well.1     If  all  the 
Fenians   and    the    Dynamitists   could    be    blown   up 
with    it,    its   loss   would   be   a   gain.     I    get   sick   ofl 
hearing   that    the    19th   century   is   better   than   any 
other.  .  .  . 

I    have   had   crowds   of  acquaintance   and  friends 
here   lately.     Above  all   Gussie  (Bethell)   Parker,2  a 
great  delight  to  me.     She  came  and  sate  with  me] 
daily  for  ten  days,  and  I  miss  her  horridly.  .  .  . 

I  have  lately  set  to  music  A. TVs  words,  "  Nightin- 
gales warbled  without," — greatly  to  Mary  Simeon's 
pleasure^  also  to  Sir  Barrington's  and  Lady  S's. 

Lord  Derby  wrote  me  the  kindest  letter  lately, 
asking  me  to  bring  drawings  to  England  "there  is 
plenty  of  room  yet  at  Knowsley."  .  .  . 

10  June,  1883. 

I    think    I    told   you   in  a   letter    I   wrote   on   the 

3rd — interruptions — what  did  I  tell  you  ?     "  D d 

if  I  know " — as  the  Sentinel  at  the  Corfu  Palace 
was  heard  to  say,  when  he  repeated  the  words  to 
his  successor,  "  You  are  not  to  let  anyone  walk  into 
the  Palace  yard  of  the  President  or  of  the  Lord 
High     Commissioner."     "  Which    is    which?"     said 

the  incoming   Sentinel.     "  D d   if   I    know"  was 

the  reply. 

Is  Miss  Stopford  at  Balmoral?  It  would  be 
curious  to  know  what  she  thought  of  Sanremo, 
where  she  staid  some  months,  but  (as  you  may 
suppose,)  I  kept  aloof.     Nevertheless  if  she  reported 

1  Sold  eventually  to  Baron  Stern. 

2  Lord  Chancellor  Westbury's  daughter. 

3  Sister  of  Sir  Barrington  Simeon,  Bart. 

284 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

at  all  to  H.M.,  (who  was  then,  it  was  rumoured 
absurdly,  about  to  come  here,)  she  must  needs  have 
said  that  Sanremo  is  a  place  the  said  Queen  could 
not  like,  as  there  is  little  probability  here  of  privacy, 
and  less  now  even  than  when  your  President 
Phocaship  was  here.  .  .  . 

I  wish  you  could  see  my  garden  just  now !  It 
comes  out  bouncingly  all  at  once,  early  in  June, 
and  is  like  a  Rainbow.  .  .  .  Bye  the  bye,  Bertolini's 
Hotel  (Royal)  is  now  the  only  place  H.M.  could 
come  to  here,  for  it  is  greatly  enlarged,  and  the 
garden  immensely  so.  Next  to  it,  above  me,  is  a 
huge  Villa,  also  pretty  quiet,  and  communicating 
with  the  Royal  Hotel  Gardens,  this  belongs  to  the 
rich  Marsaglia  and  has  been  built  since  Miss 
Stopford  was  here.  .  .  . 

Noo,  just  tak  cair  of  yersell,  and  dinna  wussel 
on  the  Sawbath  day. 

Hotel  Monte  Generoso. 
Mendrisio. 
Canton  Tessin.    Switzerland. 

18.  July,  1883. 

I  have  at  last  succumbed  not  only  to  Williams 
of  Foord's  advice  which  you  also  name  and  which 
many  others  wrote  about, — but  to  the  desire  of 
various  old  friends,  (Lady  Goldsmid  etc,  etc)  and 
have  given  orders  for  a  change  of  dispensation  as 
to  the  fifty  Corsican  views,  which  are  now  for  sale 
separately  for  £25  each.  My  great  wish  was  to  keep 
the  whole  series  together,  and  there  were  two  ladies 
with  ,£100,000  a  year  who  I  thought  were  likely  to  buy 
them  ;  but  as  I  said  "all  things  have  suffered  change." 

I    am   glad  (though   there  was   no   need   of  your 

285 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

additional  kindness)  that  you  have  the  Corfu  Citadel 
and  Campagna,  but  particularly  so  that  the  Plataea 
walls  have  become  yours,  as  the  drawing  is  made 
from  the  very  last  sketch  I  made  before  my  disable- 
ment by  fever  at  Thebes  in  1848.  I  made  the 
original  drawing  in  company  of  Charles  Church  of 
Wells,  who  afterwards  was  with  me  all  through  my 
bad  illness.  .  .  . 

There  are  people  here  who  say  your  Government 
are  going  out,  along  of  Madagascar,  Suez  Canals, 
New  Guinea,  Mr.  Chamberlain's  virulence,  and 
other  causes.  I  do  not  myself  think  the  Gladstone] 
Government  is  likely  to  end  just  yet,  but  if  it 
should,  one  good  result  may  be  that  you  may  rush 
off  to  Lucerne  and  through  the  tunnel  to  Lugano 
and  Mendrisio  and  up  here.  So  in  that  sense  I 
should  like  you  to  be  free.  The  end  of  my  stay 
at  Sanremo  was  also  distressing :  111  myself  and 
very  feeble,  poor  old  George  was  much  worse,  from 
Bronchitis  and  other  miseries.  I  sent  him  with  his 
eldest  son  to  Mendrisio,  but  the  rain  of  all  June 
made  him  still  worse,  and  it  is  only  since  he  came 
up  here  on  the  4th  that  there  are  any  signs  of 
amendment.  I  am  however  obliged  to  prepare 
myself  for  believing  that  he  can  never  again  be  well, 
and  his  change  for  the  worse  is  a  daily  distress  to 
me.  Yet,  whatever  happens,  I  choose  to  keep  on 
in  the  path  I  laid  down  for  myself  to  follow,  nor 
will  I  allow  the  help  and  fidelity  with  which  for 
thirty  years  he  has  served  me,  to  be  forgotten 
because  he  is  now  helpless  and  old.  Happily  the 
sale  of  my  work  enables  me  to  go  to  more  expense 
than  I  otherwise  could  hope  to  do.  .  .  . 

286 


Switzerland  and  San  Remo 

I  was  sorry  I  bothered  you  with  letters  at  Balmoral. 
But  I  thought  you  were  there  for  a  longer  time. 
Miss  Stopford  was  for  a  period,  but  she  did  not 
know  this  child. 

The  word  Peeriod  reminds  me  that  Earl  Mulgrave ! 
is  a  coming  to  be  our  new  chaplain  at  the  new 
Sanremo  church.  One  here  suggests  that  he  should 
preach  in  an  Earl's-by-Courtesy  Coronet,  and  so 
get  huge  subscriptions.  .  .  . 

Write  when  you  can,  or  even  when  you  can't. 

Hotel  Monte  Generoso.     Mendrisio. 
Canton  Ticino. 

Switzerland. 

Aug.  2nd,  1883. 

.  .  .  Although  my  own  health  is  better,  I  am  daily 
in  greater  distress  by  seeing  my  poor  old  servant 
Giorgio  Cocali  suffer  so  terribly.  They  (Doctors)  say 
there  is  no  chance  of  his  living,  and  it  is  a  question  of 
time  as  to  his  remaining  alive, — the  constant  coughing 
and  bronchial  attacks,  and  terrible  weakness  considered. 
Nevertheless,  I  cannot  send  him  down  to  the  hot 
Riviera,  (which  would  at  once  prove  fatal),  although 
the  weather  here  is  so  cold  that  he  is  almost  always 
obliged  to  keep  his  bed.  His  eldest  son  is  always  with 
him,  and  his  youngest  looks  after  me,  who,  what  with 
bad  fits  of  giddiness  at  times  etc  :  etc  : — dare  not  walk 
out  any  longer  alone.  .  .  . 

Villa  Emily,  it  really  seems,  is  about  to  be  let,  for 
some  sort  of  a  collegiate  concatenation.  The  "  doing 
of  it  up  "  will  cost  possibly  more  than  the  rent  I  should 

1  The  present  Marquess  of  Normanby,  late  Canon  of 
Windsor. 

287 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


get.  It  is  odd  that  both  you  and  I  (in  such  different 
phases  of  life)  should  each  have  a  skeleton  in  the  form 
of  a  white  elephant  House.  As  for  Strawberry  Hill, 
I  should  like  to  know  about  the  sale.  .  .  . 


5.30  a.m.     August  8.  1883. 

This  is  to  say,  my  dear  good  servant  and  friend 
George  died,  quite  calmly,  an  hour  ago. 

He  is  to  be  buried  at  Mendrisio,  by  the  Milan 
English  Protestant  chaplain. 

Please  write  to  me. 

Villa  Tennyson. 

19  October,  1883. 

You  had  better  keep  President  of  the  Council  if  so 
be  you  ain't  Privy  Seal  also.  That  creature's  life  is  a 
dreary  mystery  to  me  ;  but  I  have  already  offered  you 
the  use  of  my  large  cistern  if  you  will  send  him  out. — 
My  two  Suliots  should  take  good  care  of  him. 

.  .  .  The  marriage  of  Lord  Norreys  l  to  Miss  Dor- 

1  The  present  Earl  of  Abingdon,  son  of  the  6th  Earl,  married 
in  1883  Gwendoline,  daughter  of  Lieut.-Gen.  Hon.  Sir  J.  C. 
Dormer,  son  of  13th  Baron  Dormer,  as  his  second  wife. 

288 


Switzerland  and   San   Remo 

mer  I  saw  in  the  papers,  but,  supposing  old  Lord 
Abingdon  to  have  died  ages  ago,  I  imagined  that  the 
bridegroom  was  the  son  of  the  Lord  Norreys  I  used  to 
meet — for  he  must  have  a  boy  over  twenty —  .  .  .  One 
day  at  Strawberry  he  declared  dogmatically  that  the 
Greek  Church  always  read  the  Athanasian  creed  in 
their  churches,  which  I  knew  they  never  did.  And, 
although  I  quoted  Arthur  Stanley  (who,  it  so  happened, 
had  just  written  to  me  on  the  subject)  it  was  voted 
that  I  knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  i.e.  that  I  being  a 
Landscapepainter  was  necessarily  a  fool,  and  that  he, 
being  an  Earl's  son  was  necessarily  in  the  right.  So, 
knowing  my  antagonist,  I  succumbed  to  circumstances 
in  cerulean  silence. 

I  was  kept  au  fait  as  to  all  the  Copenhagen  voyage. 
The  poems  read  to  the  Royalties  by  J^  were  "The 
Grandmother"  and  "  Blow,  bugler,  blow! " 

There  must  have  been  more  than  a  slight  resem- 
blance between  A.  Trollope  and  myself,  as  I  have  long 
been  continually  spoken  to  as  "A,  Trollope" — both 
in  London  and  abroad.  Anyhow  we  must  have  been 
very  much  alike  in  fizziognomy  if  not  otherwise. 

You  will  be  glad  to  know  that,  although  the  death 
of  my  dear  good  servant  has  been  and  will  be  always 
a  sorrow,  yet  his  two  sons  do  all  in  their  power  to  fill 
their  Father's  place.  $  says  somewhere,  "tyranny- 
tyranny  breeds " — and  I  suppose  "kindness  kindness 
breeds,"  for  I  have  always  done  all  I  could  for  poor 
George  and  his  family,  as  indeed  I  ought,  for  no  one 
but  myself  knows  what  and  how  much  I  have  owed  to 
him  for  thirty  years  past. 


289 


CHAPTER  IX 
October,  1883,  to  December,  1887. 

SAN    REMO   AND    NORTHERN    ITALY. 

T^OR  this  final  chapter  I  have  taken  at  random 
*  characteristic  letters  written  by  the  painter 
during  the  last  four  years  of  his  life.  Almost 
to  the  end  they  show  the  same  unfailing 
interest  in  life,  the  same  minuteness,  and  the 
same  whimsical  humour. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Oct.  29.  1883. 
...  I  wonder  if  you  saw  my  big  Kunchinjunga  at 
Lord  Aberdare's,  and  if  you  thought  it  looked  well. 
Henry  Bruce  has  always  been  one  of  my  steadiest 
friends.  So  has  Alfred  Seymour — from  whom  comes 
a  letter  today  from  Knoyle  :  they  all  go  to  Algiers  for 
the  winter.  I  imagine  I  owe  to  him  a  very  nice  notice 
of  "  Meeself  and  mee  works "  which  was  in  the 
"  World  "  of  August  15th  last1  (No.  476).     It  is  well 

T  A  flattering  paragraph  in  "  What  the  World  says "  on  his 
Corsican  views  then  on  view  at  Messrs.  Foord  and  Dickinson's, 
Wardour  Street. 

290 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

that  Wardour  Street  and  my  Corsican  views  should 
be  indicated  to  people  in  general,  as  old  friends 
cannot  go  on  always  buying,  but  I  have  always  to  go 
on  eating. 

As  for  your  want  of  energy — non  ci  credo.  But 
regarding  your  difficulty  about  Privy  Seal  or  Privy 
Council  paper,  I  earnestly  recommend  you  to  gum  a 
half  sheet  of  each  together,  and  so  write  on  both  at 
once,  to  which  advice  I  hear  you  mutter  "  Gum  !  gum  ! 
gum  !  this  is  too  bad  !  " — Nevertheless,  I  constantly  re- 
flect on  the  condition  of  that  seal  itself,  and  wonder 
how  you  get  the  creature  to  Balmoral,  for  it  cannot  live 
so  many  hours  without  water,  and  yet  the  boiler  of  the 
engine  must  be  too  hot  for  it.  I  imagine  therefore 
that  you  take  him  either  in  an  indiarubber  bag  or  a 
tub-box,  in  the  "  reserved "  carriage  in  which  you 
travel.  .  .  . 

Please  observe  the  handwriting  of  my  address  to 
you.  I  would  ask  you  to  show  it  to  H.M.  as  a  speci- 
men of  how  one  of  her  subjects  can  write  at  72  set,  and 
as  an  example,  only  it  happens  that  H.M.  writes  a 
really  legible  and  beautiful  hand  herself,  which  all  her 
subjects  don't.  .  .  . 

I  am  working  at  a  big  Esa,  and  at 


"  Moonlight  on  still  waters  between  walls 
Of  gleaming  granite  in  a  shadowy  pass." 


But  life — were  it  not  for  hard  occupation  and  wander- 
ing in  the  garden  would  be  very  slow,  and  I  sometimes 
wish  that  I  myself  were  a  bit  of  gleaming  granite  or  a 
pomegranite  or  a  poodle  or  a  pumkin. 

291 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Balmoral  Castle. 

Nov.  5.  1883. 

.  .  .  The  Privy  Seal  has  not  accompanied  me  here, 
but  is  left  in  charge  of  an  old  clerk  (at  the  Privy  Seal 
Office,  8  Richmond  Terrace)  who  thinks  his  duties  the 
most  important  under  Government.  My  communica- 
tions with  him  are  limited,  because  he  is  stone  deaf, 
but  I  give  him  his  written  directions  to  affix  the  seal 
to  a  Patent  of  Peerage  or  Baronetage,  or  Office,  or 
Crown  Living  etc  :  and  then  he  takes  a  lump  of  wax, 
and  a  great  silver  seal  out  of  a  box,  and  he  seals  the 
document,  and  this  goes  to  the  Chancellor,  and  he 
affixes  the  Great  Seal.  It  is  all  a  piece  of  solemn 
trifling.   .  .  . 

The  Queen  is  much  better,  in  good  spirits,  but  does 
not  walk  or  stand  much  yet.  She  is  very  gracious  and 
kind.  ...  I  made  H.M.  laugh  about  my  fair  name- 
sake, Miss  Fortescue1  (really  Miss  Finney)  who  danced 
and  sang  as  a  Fairy  in  "Iolanthe"  at  the  Gaiety  on 
Saturday,  and  next  day  had  a  Sunday  dinner  with 

Lady  C s,  a  woman  who  has  never  set  her  foot 

inside  a  theatre  in  her  life. 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 

23  December  1883. 

Besides  that  it  is  the  season  for  sending  good  wishes, 

it  is  time  to  reply  to  your  Balmoral  letter  of  Nov.  5, 

which  pleased  me  vastly. 

1  "  Miss  Fortescue,"  the  actress.    Fortescue  was  interested  by 
his  namesake,  though  I  do  not  think  he  ever  saw  her  act. 

292 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

Thank  the  Lord  that  you  are  not  a  Centipede !  a 
bust  of  gratitude  I  feel  every  Sunday  morning  because 
on  that  day  happens  the  weekly  cutting  of  toenails  and 
general  arrangement  of  toes, — and  if  that  is  a  bore  with 
ten  toes,  what  would  it  have  been  if  it  had  been  the 
will  of  Heaven  to  make  us  with  a  hundred  feet,  instead 
of  only  two — i.e.  with  five  hundred  toenails  ?  It  has 
been  before  now  a  subject  of  placid  reflection  and  con- 
jecture to  me,  as  to  whether  Sovereigns,  Princes, 
Dukes  and  even  Peers  generally — cut  their  own  toe- 
nails. It  is  useless  to  think  of  asking  hereditary 
Peery  individuals  about  this  as  they  are  brought  up  to 
recognise  facts  as  so  to  speak  impersonal  and  beyond 
remark  :  but  it  is  possible  that  I  may  find  out  some 
day  if  $.  will  continue  this  odious  annoyance  after 
he  is  entitled  to  wear  a  coronet.  Concerning  the 
Tennyson  D'Eyncourt  peerage,  you  may  suppose  I 
have  plenty  of  communication  ;  and  I  daresay  you 
know  as  well  as  I  do  that  it  was  a  particular  desire  of 
H.M.  that  she  should  bestow  it, — though  I  have 
actually  heard  people  say  that  she  did  not  wish  it,  but 
was  persuaded  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Gladstone],  who 
initiated  the  whole  abooo ! 

As  regards  myself  and  my  own  health,  I  cannot  tell 
you  much  good.  I  had  a  bad  fit  or  attack  after  I  wrote 
last,  and  fell — happily — in  my  garden, — remaining  in- 
sensible for  some  time.  Since  then  I  have  had  no 
other  similar  shock,  but  only  threatenings  of  paralysis. 
I  rarely  go  out  beyond  my  own  villa,  and  am  quite  pre- 
pared for  a  sudden  departure  at  any  time — regretting 
only  that  I  cannot  leave,  as  I  had  with  justice  hoped 
to  do — my  worldly  affairs  in  order.  As  to  my  daily 
comfort,  the  two  sons  of  poor  dear  George  leave  me 

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nothing  to  wish  for.  The  elder,  who  cooks  famously 
after  my  fashion,  is  however,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  in 
very  precarious  health,  and  must  fail  of  consumption 
unless  great  care  is  taken  that  no  fresh  cold  is 
incurred.  .  .  . 

But  the  great  and  constant  worry  of  my  life  is  that 
Villa  Emily.  .  .  .  Last  Autumn  it  was  let  to  people 
for  a  school,  but  they — having  furnished  and  inhabiting 
it,  declare  their  utter  inability  to  pay  a  farthing  of 
rent !  Whether  they  are  swindlers  or  not  is  what  I 
cannot  determine,  but  the  result  is  the  same,  honest  or 
the  contrary.  As  the  villa  was  mortgaged  for  ^2000 
to  our  dear  good  kind  Northbrook  three  years  back, 
when  there  was  every  prospect  of  its  sale  for  ^5000 
or  ^6000,  and  when  no  one  could  have  foreseen  so 
brutal  an  increase  of  wicked  injury,  you  may  suppose 
how  miserable  I  am  about  it.  .  .  .  Frank  Lushing- 
ton's  letters  once  a  week  are  a  comfort.  Yesterday 
his  godson,  Sir  Henry  Maine's  I  son  brought  me  an 
introduction.  .  .  .  (Concerning  godsons,  one  Mr. 
Jones  here  had  this  announcement  made  to  him  by  a 
waiter — n  Sir,  one  gentleman  wishes  to  see  you  ;  he 
says  he  is  the  Son  of  God  belonging  to  your  friend 
Mr.  Smith  !!")... 

All  you  say  of  Queen  Victoria  interests  me  greatly, 
as  I  think  her  one  of  the  best  and  most  remarkable  of 
living  women.  The  letters  of  H.R.H.  Princess  Alice 
— just  published — to  such  a  mother,  are  invaluable  as 
characteristic  of  both  parties.  .  .  . 

Now  that  the  Phoca  is  known  to  be  Irish,  could  you 

1  Sir  Henry  James  Sumner  Maine,  Law  Member  of  the 
Supreme  Council  of  India  1862-1869,  in  1871  became  a  Member 
of  Council  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India. 

294 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

not  send  the  creature  to  Dublin,  and  come  over  here 
for  a  week  ?  You  can  have  two  rooms  in  V[illa] 
T[ennyson]  to  yourself. 

Why  should  the  Ilbert  Bill J  be  called  the  Filbert 
Pill  ?  Because  many  people  think  it  hard  to  crack  and 
unpleasant  to  swallow. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory 

Dec.  27.  1883. 

.  .  .  About  the  Tennyson  Peerage  my  mind  is 
rather  confused  and  perplexed,  but  I  shall  say  nothing 
against  it,  and  so  far  as  the  House  of  Lords  is  con- 
cerned, I  think  it  an  honour.  I  did  not  know  that  the 
Queen  had  originated  it.  She  told  me  once  that  he 
had  refused  to  come  and  see  her,  because  he  didn't 
know  how  to  make  a  bow ! 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

7  January  1884,  (8  p.tn.). 
Your  very  welcome  letter  of  December  27th  was  a 
great  pleasure  to  this  child,  whose  chief  food  mental  in 
these  days  is  letters, — for  the  grasshopper  has  become 
a  burden,  and  the  quick-pace  downhill  transit  to 
indifference  and  final  apathy  is  more  and  more 
discernible  as  month  follows  month.  Yet  that  fact 
does  not  fully  account  for  the  perversity  of  my  nose 
busting  out  a-bleeding  at  this  moment — as  prevents 
my  going  on  writing  for  a  time  and  times  and  perhaps 
half  a  time. 

1  A  bill  which  would  render  Europeans  in  India  liable  to  be 
tried  by  qualified  native  judges. 

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Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

8.30.  I  have  "  backbecome,"  as  old  Mr.  Kestner  J 
used  to  say — and  begin  to  write  again,  but  it  is  late 
and  I  shall  soon  shut  up  altogether.  I  am  going  to 
make  a  remark,  which  is  as  follows.  Your  sincerity  and 
plain  straightforwardness,  (which  I  have  for  so  many 
years  known  of)  have  never  been  more  pleasant  to  me 
than  when  you  wrote,  "  I  see  that  you  feel  yourself 
feeble  in  some  respects,  and  that  your  health  and  life 
are  precarious."  Now  this  is  what  I  call  valuable  and 
truthful  writing  ;  yet  many  of  my  really  kind  friends 
write — "  O  !  what  nonsense  !  Seventy  two  is  no  age  ! 
— I  have  an  uncle  ninty  five — "  and  so  on — "  vacant 
chaff  well  meant  for  grain  "  indeed  !  It  may  please 
God  that  I  live  on  for  years,  but  I  choose  rather  to 
prepare  for  a  shorter  period  of  life.  And  bye  the  bye, 
is  not  your  61st  birthday  just  about  now?  January 
1  st  is  my  dear  Frank  Lushington's — also  61  :  North- 
brook,  I  think,  is  one  if  not  two  years  younger.  But 
what  are  these  "  little  differences."  In  a  very  short 
time  these  units  and  tens  and  twentys  are  all  equally 
nil.     (O  criky !  will  the  "  ridiculous  "  never  leave  me  ? 

Have  you  never  heard  of  Emily  F or  Miss  G 

or  some  female  shrieker  lecturing  on  the  equality  of 
the  sexes,  and  saying — "  The  sexes  are  intrinsically 
equal,  spite  of  some  little  differences," — whereon 
arose  a  roar  of  "  Hurrah  !  for  their  little  differences  ! !  " 
— and  after  vain  efforts  to  speak  again,  the  shouters  of 
"  viva  the  little  differences ! "  finally  won  the  day,  and 
the  Lady  Lecturer  collapsed.  .  .  . 

Here  follows  another  interruption — post — long  and 

1  Chevalier  Kestner,  a  well-known  figure  in  Roman  society  of 
the  forties  and  fifties. 

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San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

very  nice  letter  from  Wilkie  Collins — and  other 
missives.  .  .  . 

The  little  book  by  T.  H.  Green  I  came  three  days 
ago  ;  many  thanks  for  it.  I  do  not  however  as  yet 
think  that  it  suits  my  "  fixings  "  as  it  does  yours — 
which  is  a  rare  case  regarding  our  inter-possessed 
notions.  Perhaps  the  style  confuses  me  ;  or  perhaps — 
which  is  much  more  probable — I,  being  an  Ass,  cannot 
well  appreciate  it.  I  cannot  build  up  lines  of  Faith- 
architecture  (so  to  speak  wg  Zirog  e'uoeiv  (on  a  substratum 
of  Dogma  I  can't  believe,  or  understand.  It  is  vexa- 
tious even  to  touch  on  subjects  of  this  sort  so 
flippantly  :  if  you  were  here  for  about  forty-eight 
years,  and  we  were  both  well  and  illustrious  and 
pomsidillious, — better   times    might   happen. 

Regarding  Tennyson  and  the  Peerage.  (Have  you 
seen  a  perfect  (and  good-natured)  caricature  in  Punch 
about  it  ?  It  has  been  sent  to  me,  and  ^'s  "Hat" 
is  a  miracle  of  absurd  accuracy.  How  often  have  we 
jeered  about  that  Hat !)  You  may  suppose  that  I  have 
had  heaps  of  letters  on  the  subject :  one — from  a 
person  I  shan't  name, — nearly  busts  me  with  its  folly — 
"What !  make  a  man  a  Peer  because  he  has  written  a 
few  verses  I  !  What  enemy  of  his  has  persuaded  the 
Queen  to  make  him  so  ridiculous  ? "  I  don't  envy 
your  fogs.     Figs — even  frogs — would  be  better.  .  .  . 

Once  more  (and  it  is  high  time)  I  paws.  8.50 
P.M. 


1  T.  H.  Green,  the  philosopher.  Lear  probably  refers  here  to 
the  "  Prolegomena  to  Ethics,"  left  incomplete  at  Green's  death, 
and  published  in  1883.  He  married  a  sister  of  John  Addington 
Symonds,  who  still  lives  at  Oxford. 

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Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

8  p.m. 
21  January,  1884. 

If  you  will  start  off  at  once  so  as  to  get  here  while 
this  weather  lasts,  you  shall  have  my  two  volumes  of 
Lodge  if  you  are  a  good  boy  to  read  all  day,  which 
you  can  do  in  your  room,  looking  out  on  the  sounding 
syllabub  sea  and  the  obvious  octagonal  ocean  ;  and 
bye  and  bye  I  will  alter  my  garden  so  as  to  give  room 
for  a  waterspouty  small  aqueous  circular  basin,  in 
which,  in    remembrance  of  you    a   live   Phoca  shall 


ever  dwell,  and  I  will  observe  it  from   the  brink  of 

the    KVKyog. 

(I  am  reading  the  Seven  against  Thebes  in  Greek 
just  now,  which  will  account  for  my  Hellenic  proclivi- 
ties. One  Rev.  W.  Gurney,  now  chaplain  at  Milan, 
erst  Head  Master  of  Doncaster  School,  who  buried 
my  poor  dear  George  at  Mendrisio,  is  a  going  for  to 
send  me  a  pumphlett  he  has  written  on  them 
toppix.) 

I  must  stop  now,  as  the  watch  said  when  the  little 
boy  filled  it  full  of  treacle.     Good-night. 

Did  I  send  you  these  two  riddles.  Why  could  not 
Eve  have  the  measles  ?  Because  she'd  Adam — 
(had  em.)  And  "  Is  life  worth  the  living  ?  " — "  That 
depends  on  the  liver."  (translated  by  Lecky,  "  La  vie, 

298 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

en  vaut  elle  la  peine?"     "  Ca  depend  de  la.  foi  (foie)") 
Good-night.     Amen.  .  .  . 


I  do  certainly  wish  you  could  go  to  Stratton  : 
N[orthbrook]  is  seen  there  to  best  of  all  advantage,  as 
is  Lady  Emma,  of  whom  I  have  the  highest  opinion  : 
she  has  never  changed  a  bit  since  she  was  ten  years 
old,  or  five  for  the  matter  of  that.  I  must  write  to 
her  presently,  as  she  has  sent  me  an  absurd  Xmas  card 
for  my  cat  Foss.  I  fully  enter  into  all  you  say  as  to 
your  goings  into  "  Society."  The  Sandringham  visit 
I  do  not  doubt  was  good  for  you  :  for,  if,  as  I  think, 
work  is  the  best  solace  for  your  life,  then  the  necessary 
accompaniments  of  that  work  are  also  its  best  con- 
ditions, and  of  such  are  attendance  on  Royalty  etc, 
however  in  themselves  such  necessities  are  distasteful. 
I,  as  you  know,  detest  the  Conventionalities  of  Royal 
life,  and  am  thankful  I  never  was  much  connected 
therewith :  but  the  "  career  "  (as  Bowen *  used  to  say — 
bye  the  bye,  how  queer  his  Canton  life  and  Hong 
Kong  !)  of  a  public  man  cannot  be  shirked.  Next  in 
order  in  your  letter  are  your  remarks  on  being  left 
alone,  and  milady's  death.  The  longer  I  live  the  more 
I  think  I  perceive  the  spaces  of  this  life  to  be  inex- 
pressibly trivial  and  small,  and  that,  if  there  be  a  life 
beyond  this,  our  present  existence  is  merely  a  trifle  in 

1  Sir  George  Ferguson  Bowen,  G.C.M.G.,  held  various  high 
posts  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  was  Governor  and  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  Mauritius,  1879-1883,  since  when  he  was 
Governor  of  Hong-Kong.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  H.H. 
Count  Candiano  di  Roma,  late  President  of  the  Ionian  Senate. 
It  was  in  Corfu,  when  he  was  Chief  Secretary  to  the  Lord  High 
Commissioner,  that  Lear  knew  him. 

299 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

comparison  with  what  may  be  beyond.  And  that 
there  is  a  life  beyond  this  it  seems  to  me  the  greatest 
of  absurdities  to  deny,  or  even  to  doubt  of.  Next  you 
copy  the  words  written  by  the  Qfueen],1  who  to  my 
mind,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  women  of  this 
century  or  perhaps  any  other.  The  message  sent  is 
absolutely  beautiful  and  touching,  and  real,  for  she  has, 
I  am  well  aware,  no  idea  of  show-display,  or  of  affecta- 
tion, or  sham.  She  is  a  true  and  fine  woman  in  every 
repect,  whether  Queen,  wife,  mother  or  honest  worker- 
out  of  her  life,  daily  and  hourly  in  either  position.  I 
daresay  you  can  imagine  that  I  know  much  more  of 
Court  life  than  many  would  suppose  :  for  if  you  recall 
how  very  many  persons  about  Q[ueen]  [Victoria]  I 
have  known,  and  if  you  reflect  that  the  closest  holders 
of  secrets  are  apt  to  tell  their  husbands  or  beloveds  or 
sisters,  and  that  those  husbands  and  beloveds  and 
sisters  confide  to  third  persons  what  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  "  unknown  " — you  cannot  wonder  that 
much  of  truth  filters  out.  Meanwhile,  the  sentence 
beginning  "  she  does  not  wish  "  etc,  etc,  is  one  of 
extreme  pathos  and  beauty.  I  don't  know  if  it  is 
proper  to  call  a  sovereign  a  duck,  but  I  cannot  help 
thinking  H.M.  a  dear  and  absolute  duck,  and  I  hope 
she  may  live  yet  thirty  or  forty  more  years,  for  every 
year  she  lives  will  be  a  blessing  to  her  country.    You, 

1  From  a  letter  from  H.M.  Queen  Victoria,  Osborne,  January 
3,  1884 :- 

.  .  .  "  The  Queen  does  not  wish  Lord  Carlingford  '  a  happy 
New  Year/  for  that  is  a  mockery  to  those  in  grief  as  she  has 
known  now  for  many  a  year,  but  she  wishes  him  peace,  patience, 
and  courage  to  bear  the  heavy  Cross,  and  the  power  to  realize 
the  future  more  and  more." 

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San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

I  need  not  say,  may  be  sure  that  I  repeat  nothing  of 
what  you  write  :  but  after  what  I  have  written  you 
may  understand  how  I  loathe  such  animals  as,  .  .  . 
who  covertly  aid  in  the  progress  of  republican  principles 
and  the  downfall  of  monarchy.  As  a  rule  I  avoid 
writing  on  Poltix  but  now  and  then  I  cannot  help 
alluding  to  them  :  for  the  present  I  shall  only  say,  in 
the  remarkable  words  of  a  Mrs.  Malaprop  here,  "  The 
present  Government  is  one  of  vaccination  and  no 
policy ;  nor  does  it  ever  act  with  derision  until  it  is 
obliged  to  do  so  by  some  dreadful  Cataplasm.  .    .  ." 

i. 

When  u  Grand  old  men  "  persist  in  folly 
In  slaughtering  men  and  chopping  trees, 

What  art  can  soothe  the  melancholy 

Of  those  whom  futile  "  statesmen  "  teaze  ? 

2. 

The  only  way  their  wrath  to  cover 

To  let  mankind  know  who's  to  blame-o- 

Is  first  to  rush  by  train  to  Dover 
And  then  straight  onward  to  Sanremo. 

I  have  often  seen  in  lists  of  dinners,  "  Cabinet 
puddings "  named.  Now  what  I  have  a  painful 
curiosity  to  know  is  whether  all  you  Cabinet  Ministers 
have  such  a  pudding  placed  before  you  at  Cabinet 
Councils,  and  if  W.  E.  G.  has  a  huge  big  one  at  the 
head  of  the  table.  Respond — this  being  an  important 
philopobostrogotr6bbicle  question.  .  .  . 

2j.  January  1884. 
Here  is  one  more  scrawl  from  your  troublesome 
old  Landskipper.     I  don't  much  like  bothering  you, 
yet  as  something  particularly  disgusting  has  happened, 

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Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

I  wish  you  to  know  of  it.  The  people  who  took 
Villa  Emily  for  a  school  have  come  to  utter  grief 
and  have  absconded,  paying  me  £\  only  out  of 
the  ;£ioo  due,  and  having  had  all  their  furniture 
seized  and  carried  off  by  the  tradesmen  of  Sanremo 
who  supplied  it.  One  of  the  partners  sends  the 
key  of  the  Villa  to  the  Agent,  and  begs  that  I 
may  be  informed  that  any  effort  to  be  repaid  is 
useless  on  my  part,  as  they  have  no  money  what- 
soever. Some  time  back,  I  went  to  Villa  Emily 
with  an  old  friend  (sister  of  Sir  Erskine  Perry) 
and  looked  at  all  the  rooms,  and  when  I  was  going 
away  I  said,  "  But,  Miss  Wilkin,  how  about  your 
rent  ? "  Whereon  Miss  W.  busted  into  tiers,  and 
there  was  a  scene.  Said  I  to  Miss  P.  when  we 
were  outside — "What  do  you  think  of  them?" 
"They  are  possibly  imposters,  but  certainly  inefficient." 
And  it  seems  they  are  both.  Beyond  a  doubt  it  has 
been  disgraceful  of  the  agent  to  have  let  the  house 
to  any  people  without  proper  references,  and  with- 
out having  a  sum  paid  down.  .  .  . 

28  February,  1884. 
I  should  like  you  to  know  as  soon  as  possible,  that 
I  have  sold  the  Villa  Emily.  I  considered  the  matter 
thoroughly,  and  finally  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
a  great  and  serious  present  loss  is  more  easily  to 
be  endured  than  an  indefinitely  greater  one  in  the 
future,  aggravated  meanwhile  by  constant  necessities 
of  tax  and  repair  payings.  So  I  sold  the  poor  old 
place,  and  it  now  belongs  to  the  highly  pious  and 
exalted  Miss  Macdonald  Lockhart,  who  has  bought 
it  for  some  carro table  institootion. 

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San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

I  very  much  wish  Northbrook  could  be  told  this, 
but  I  do  not  like  to  write  to  him,  because  I  know — 
along  of  Suakim I  etc :  he  must  at  this  moment 
have  no  need  of  extra  bother.  But  if  you  have  a 
Nopportunity,  tell  him  the  fulginous  and  filthy  fact. 
I  will  write  to  him  bye  and  bye. 

I  am  reading  A.  Hayward's  essays2  with  great 
pleasure.  What  stupidity  to  say — as  some  write — 
that  his  faculty  of  "  dining  out"  and  his  "  con- 
versation" were  the  principally  remarkable  points 
of  his  character. 

May  not  A.  Tennyson's 

"Too  late!  Too  late!"  be  adopted  as  your 
"  grand  old  man's  "  motto  ?  Anyhow  his  supporters, 
Goschen,  Forster,  Cowan  and  Marriott  seem  to 
think  so. 


P.S.  The  V.E.  property  was  sold  for  a  shockingly 
small  sum  :  but  if  it  was  to  be  sold,  the  sooner  the 
better. 

It  is  rather  odd  that   both    you  and  I   have  had 

1  Baker  Pasha's  forces  were  routed  at  Suakim,  proving  the 
hopelessness  of  the  attempt  to  preserve  the  Soudan  for  the 
Egyptians  and  the  uselessness  of  the  native  army.  Lord  Salisbury 
proposed  a  Vote  of  Censure  in  the  House  of  Lords,  which  was 
carried  by  a  majority  of  ioo,  whereas  Sir  S.  North  cote's  resolu- 
tion was  defeated  by  a  larger  majority  in  the  lower  House. 

2  Abraham  Hay  ward,  the  essayist,  founder  of  the  Law 
Magazine,  a  brilliant  conversationalist,  died  in  February,  1884. 
Lear  is  referring  here  to  his  "  Selected  Essays/'  or  his 
u  Biographical  and  Critical  Essays."  He  was  an  habitue  of 
Strawberry  Hill  and  Lady  Waldegrave's  different  houses. 

303 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

to  be  bothered  by  house  sales  late  in  life!  whereas 
in  early  days — 

"  No  house  had  we  whatever 
except  our  covering" — skin 

for  in  those  days  even  Redhouse  was  not  yours. 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

2$th  March,  1884. 
.  .  .  This  morning  I  wrote  out  the  eggstrax  from 
my  Diary  of  1862,  thinking  they  would  amuse  you. 
I  am  not  up  to  writing  much  tonight,  and  cannot 
answer  your  kind  letter :  how  you  can  find  time 
to  think  of  me,  I  can't  imagine.  There  are  lots 
to  say,  but  as  usual  I  can't  write  all  at  present.  The 
history  of  the  eggstrax  is  curious,  and  relates  to 
rather  a  disagreeable  incident,  which  caused  me  to 
rummage  over  several  years  of  Diary,  whence  I  culled 
the  two  specimens  enclosed.1  Some  time  back  two 
ladies  came  here,  and  one  began  to  speak  about 
Miladi  very  disparagingly,  and  so — not  a  difficult 
matter — I  lost  my  temper.  Said  this  lady — "  After 
all,  Lady  Waldegrave  was  only  an  ordinary  person 
as  to  mind  :  has  anybody  ever  remembered  anything 
that  made  any  impression  and  could  be  recollected  ?  " 
I  was  such  a  fool  as  to  flare  up  and  say  "Yes, 
she  did  !  She  said  of  the  man  you  have  been  hold- 
1  See  p.  xix,  vol.  i. 
304 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

ing  up  as  the  particular  great  man  of  the  century — 
"  He  is  no  statesman,  and  has  nothing  of  a  states- 
manlike mind ! "  I  was  sorry  for  having  been  so 
outspoken,  but  my  having  been  so  was  the  cause 
of  my  rummaging  over  various  years  of  diary,  and 
certainly  I  found  I  was  quite  within  the  mark, — 
not  only  then  but  at  another  time,  as  to  the  Irish 
Church  Bill. 

These  diaries  are  vastly  funny  and  interesting  to 
me,  but  could  not  be  as  much  so  to  anybody  else, 
as  so  much  more  is  understood  by  myself  than 
written.  In  these  last  rummagings  I  have  come 
on  a  deal  of  interest  in  many  ways. 

I  must  stop  now,  as  it  is  8.45,  and  poor  Dimitri 
has  to  take  my  lamp  and  bring  me  some  tea.  I 
say  "poor"  Dimitri,  as  he  must  soon  be  the  last  of 
his  race  ;  Nicola,  poor  George's  eldest  son,  one  of 
the  steadiest  and  most  active  fellows,  and  who 
was  so  good  and  attentive  during  the  last  two  sad 
years  of  his  Fathers  life,  is  slowly  dying  of  con- 
sumption. He  cannot  ultimately  recover,  but  I  in- 
tend to  take  every  care  of  him  till  the  end  comes — 
if  indeed  it  comes  to  him  before  it  comes  to  myself. 
Good  night. 

2$th.  March.  1884.  7  a.m. 

...  As  for  your  Government,  I  never  "  devoutly 
wished  "  its  end,  though  much  of  what  is  done  and 
doing  is  most  objectionable,  nor  do  I  for  this 
quote  Lord  Randolph,  Salisbury  or  any  of  the 
Opposition,  but  only  your  own  supporters, — Forster, 
Goschen,  Cowan,  Marriott,  etc ;  etc ;  I  am  as  sen- 
sible as  you  can  be  of  the  immense  difficulty  of  form- 

305  u 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

ing  a  powerful  Ministry  seeing  that  the  materials 
and  circumstances  are  against  you.  I  do  not  think 
Salisbury  or  Northcote  could  succeed.  Had  Har- 
rington been  less  a  shilly  shally  man  in  all  but 
Gladstone  worship,  he  would  be  the  rightest 
man  to  succeed,  together  with  yourself  and  Derby, 
whose  future  I  believe  will  always  increase  in  power. 
As  for  you,  you  appear  to  me  the  one  of  the  lot 
who  has  most  straightforward  dignity  and  quiet, 
and  you  are  a  wonderful  contrast  to  the  universal 
talent  that  can  be  good  at  Exchecquer  Chancellor- 
ship, jam,  treecutting,  and  anti-papal  writing,  not 
to  speak  of  fanatical  Greek  Church  proclivities. 

As  for  your  medical  and  Cattle  Bills,  I  do  not 
understand  them  and  don't  try  to.  Years  ago,  when 
it  was  proposed  by  some  talkers  to  have  a  Coalition 
Cabinet,  it  was  pointed  out  that  if  W.  E.  G.  were 
in  it  nominally  anywhere,  he  would  be  by  his  violence 
and  temperament  always  really  at  the  top ;  but  I, 
as  a  dirty  Lanscape-painter,  do  not  feel  sure  that 
the  extreme  party  should  not  have  been  challenged 
to  do  their  worst, — yet  naturally  I  may  be  quite 
wrong,  as  I  cannot  as  an  outsider,  judge  of  what 
may  really  have  been  the  insurmountable  difficulties 
of  the  case.  Had  you  but  been  here  when  poor 
Lord  F.  Cavendish  *  was,  and  heard  him  say  that 
"the  most  impossible  of  all  things  was  for  the 
Grand  old  man  ever  to  take  office  again! !!"...  If 
old  Lord  Aberdeen's    Ghost  looks  on,  he  may  find 

1  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish,  younger  brother  of  the  Marquis 
of  Hartington,  succeeded  Mr.  Forster  as  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland,  and  was  murdered  with  Mr.  Burke  in  the  Phoenix 
Park  on  the  dav  of  his  arrival  in  Dublin,  1882. 

306 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

comfort  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  dictum,  "  He  who 
can  talk  most  will  assuredly  get  most  power," — talk 
he  sense  or  nonsense.  .  .  . 

My  diary  of  1862  is  full  of  you,  as  indeed  are 
those  of  many  other  years.  I  cannot  understand 
how  such  an  asinine  beetle  as  myself  could  ever  have 
made  such  friends  as  I  have.  .  .  .  Anyhow,  the 
immense  variety  of  class  and  caste  which  I  daily 
came  in  contact  with  in  those  days,  would  be  a 
curious  fact  even  in  the  life  of  a  fool.  Of  Northbrook 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  find  I  have  always — from  1847 — 
written  in  the  same  way. 

Extract. 

May  24th  1862. 
On  board  the  Marathon  Liverpool  steamer,  from 
Corfu  to  Malta,  I  asked  the  fat  Scotch  stewardess, — 
"As  you  frequently  stay  here  all  about  these  ports, 
do  you  get  fever  ? "  "  O  Sir,"  said  she,  with  the 
strongest  accent,  "  I  have  fevers  daily  and  nightly  : 
the  Lord  God  Almighty  sends  me  fevers,  even 
when  I  don't  pray  for  them,  and  I  am  proud  to  think 
few  is  so  highly  fevered." — By  which  I  found  she 
mistook  fevers  for  favours.  But  she  suddenly  went 
on — (Lady  Valsamachi  was  on  board) — "  But  Sir,  is 
yon  leddy  the  widdy  of  Bishop  Heber  or  his 
daughter?"  "  She  is  is  widow,"  said  I.  "His 
widdy !  And  is  it  true  then  that  she,  a  Christian 
Leddy  could  marry  a  Heathen  Greek!!  And  such 
a  backsleeding  and  downcoming  after  having  been 
jined  to  one  as  has  written  such  imms  as  the  Bishop 
writ,  which  it  is  my  preeveleege  to  know  maistly 
by  heart!" 

307 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

0  pestilential  Glasgow  Pharisaism  and  be  bothered 
to  you  you  old  fool. 

16.  April.  1884. 

1  Your  very  kind  letter  of  the  12th.,  just  come. 
I  continue  to  keep  getting  a  little  better,  but  very 
slowly :  and  I  can  sit  up  two  or  three  hours.  Nicola 
feeds  me  very  carefully  and  the  other  Suliot  is  as 
attentive  as  possible. 

I  have  been  able  to  finish  the  large  Gwalior — 
which  was  all  but  done ;  and  hope  to  get  the  Argos 
finished  next  week.  "  Een  in  our  hashes  live  their 
wonted  fires" — as  the  poetical  cook  said  when  they 
said  her  hashed  mutton  was  not  hot  enough.  .  .  . 

Bye  the  bye,  a  riddle  was  given  me  yesterday. — 

Upon  this  Earth  she  walked 
Upon  this  Earth  she  talked 

Rebuking  man  of  sin; 
Sinless  she  was  no  doubt 
And  yet,  from  heaven  shut  out 

She  never  will  get  in  ! 

(Balaam's  she-ass.) 

Four  ladies  who  went  to  Fenton's  church  on  Good 
Friday  said  the  service  was  so  shocking  and  dreary 

1  On  April  8th,  Lear  wrote  to  Carlingford,  "  It  is  right  that 
you  should  know  that  on  the  26th  March  I  was  taken  very  ill 
with  Pleurisy  and  inflammation  of  lungs — and  that  on  the  28th 
it  was  not  thought  I  could  live  through  the  night.  But  Dr. 
HassalPs  constant  care  got  the  inflammation  under,  and  now 
though  it  is  not  likely  I  can  ever  again  be  quite  well,  I  am 
certainly  better,  and  to-day  dressed  and  up  for  an  hour  or 
two.  Everyone  is  very  kind !  .  .  .  Please  show  this  to 
Northbrook." 

308 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

they  would  never  go  any  more  to  that  conventicle. 
On  the  other  hand  Mulgrave's  perpetual  processions 
and  palm  bearings  etc,  etc,  give  as  much  disgust 
on  the  other  side.  Is  it  impossible  to  find  more 
than  half  a  dozen  parsons  with  commonsense  enough 
to  avoid  extremes? 

4.  June  1884. 
Having  a  notion  that  you  have  a  little  more  leisure 
while  you  are  at  Balmoral  (as  I  see  by  the  papers 
you  are  about  to  be,)  than  when  you  are  in  London, 
I  shall  send  you  a  few  lines  just  to  let  you  know  how 
your  aged  friend  goes  on. 

O  my  aged  Uncle  Arley  ! 

Sitting  on  a  heap  of  Barley 
Through  the  silent  hours  of  night ! 

On  his  nose  there  sate  a  cricket ; 

In  his  hat  a  railway  ticket — 
— But  his  shoes  were  far  too  tight ! 

Too  !  too  ! 

far  too  tight ! 

By  the  15th.  May,  I  was  just  able  to  get  away 
from  here  on  my  journey  of  discovery ;  I  was  fright- 
fully pulled  down  by  my  illness — with  swollen  feet ; 
and  unable  to  walk :  but  George's  youngest  son, 
Dimitri,  continually  pulled  me  into  and  out  of 
Railway  carriages  like  a  sack  of  hay.  So  by  dint 
of  pluck  and  patience  I  got  to  Vicenza  and  to 
Recoaro,  where  I  have  taken  rooms  for  eight  or 
ten  weeks,  but  do  not  go  there  till  the  end  of  June. 
If  I  can  keep  quiet  I  may  possibly  prosper,  and  if 
I  can  do  some  good  to  poor  Nicola  Cocali,  George's 
eldest  son,   I  shall  bless  myself.  .  .  . 

309 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


I  went,  before  I  got  home  here  on  the  24th,  to 
a  place,  Salso  Maggiore,  near  Parma— famous  in 
Italy  for  remedies  (Iodo  Bromiche?)  against  pul- 
monary complaints,  and  here,  hoping  against  hope, 
I  have  just  now,  yesterday,  sent  poor  Nicola  Cocali 
to  try  twenty  days  inhalation,  in  charge  of  Dimitri 
who  is  turning  out  a  most  valuable  and  steady 
fellow.  .  .  . 

A  thunderbolt  happened  recently  in  Christie's 
having  at  the  last  moment  declared  they  had  no 
room  or  time  left  for  my  sale  of  pictures,  so  all  are 
gone  to  Foord's.  Please  do  what  you  can  to  make 
my  Eggzibition  known.  Some  of  the  work  there  is 
of  the  best  I  have  done,   I  think. 

In  the  meantime  I  rise  now  at  4.30,  and  after  6, 
work  at  the  never  finished  Athos,  and  the  equally  big 
Bavella,  and  the  infinitely 
bigger  Enoch  Arden.  .  .  . 

I  daresay  you  have  plenty 
to  do  so  I  shall  not  write 
any  more.  I  often  wish 
you  were  here.  Generally 
speaking  I  have  latterly  re- 
sembled this. 


18.  June  1884. 
P.S.  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  I  continue 
to  have  better  accounts  of  poor  Nicola.  At  this 
moment  a  letter  from  my  dear  good  old  Calvanistic 
sister  (set.  84)  makes  me  laugh.  The  daughter  and 
son-in-law  of  my  N.  Z.  nephew  are  coming  to 
England  with  their  son  (my  great-great-nephew, 
aged  17)  to  place  him  at  either  Cambridge  or  Oxford. 

310 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

"I  am  sure"  (writes  my  sister,)  "I  hope  it  is  to  be 
the  former!  I  do  not  like  either,  but  there  is  less 
Popery  in  Cambridge  I  believe  and  hope  than  in 
Oxford."  * 

June  27.  1884. 

I  was  very  glad  to  get  your  letter  of  the  22nd, 
and  to  know  what  you  told  me  about  Charles 
Braham's2  last  hours.  It  was  a  most  immense 
blessing  for  all  that  both  you  and  Constance  could 
be  with  him  to  the  end.  .  .  .  No  one  who  knew 
Charles  Braham  could  doubt  his  extreme  affection 
to  Milady  :  .  .  . 

I  think  a  great  deal  in  these  latter  days  of  all 
my  life,  every  particle  of  which  from  the  time  I  was 
four  years  old,  I,  strange  to  say,  can  perfectly 
remember.  (Even  earlier  for  I  well  remember  being 
wrapped  in  a  blanket  and  taken  out  of  bed  to  see 
the  illuminations  in  the  house  at  Highgate,  on  the 
Battle  of  Waterloo  occasion — and  I  was  then,  18 15, 
just  3  years  old  and  odd  weeks).  And,  thinking 
over  all,  I  have  long  since  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  we  are  not  wholly  responsible  for  our  lives, 
i.e.,  our  acts,  in  so  far  as  congenital  circumstances, 
physical  or  psychical  over  which  we  have  no  absolute 
control,  prevent  our  being  so.  Partial  control  we 
assuredly  have,  but  in  many  cases  we  do  not  come  to 
know  our  real  responsibilities  or  our  nonresponsi- 
bilities,  till  long  after  it  has  become  too  late  to 
change  the  lines  we  have  early  begun  to  trace  and 
follow.  Once  or  twice  I  have  written  somewhat 
concerning   these    matters,   and   if  you  were  here    I 

1  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gillies  and  their  son. 

2  Lady  Waldegrave's  other  favourite  brother. 

311 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

might  possibly  dig  them  forth,  though  I  might  also 
possibly  remember  that  every  man  has  a  lot  of 
remembrances  of  his  own,  and  may  not  care  to  be 
bothered  with  those  of  others,  even  of  the  most 
intimate  friends.  I  also  wish  at  times  that  you  were 
quit  of  office,  but  only  because  I  hate  the  despotic 
government  of  an  incompetent  fanatic,  for  I  very  well 
understand,  or  partly  so,  the  fierce  necesssity — if 
England  is  to  be  governed  by  one  of  two  parties, — 
of  keeping  that  one  in  power  whose  original  watch- 
word and  action  was  wise  and  liberty  loving. 

.  .  .  But  enough  of  this  as  the  frog  said  angrily  to  the 
Lizard  who  averred  that  he  was  neither  fish  nor  beast 
after  his  tail  fell  off. 

I  have  lately  come  across  other  talk  recorded  by  me 
of  your  Lady,  and  all  of  it  shews,  what  one  knew 
before,  that  her  perception  of  character  was  of  the 
most  remarkable  justness. 

Regarding  your  visit  to  Wardour  Street,  I  have 
already  unbuzzomed  myself:  but  I  should  certainly  like 
to  know  your  opinion  of  the  four  large  paintings,  par- 
ticularly of  the  "  tract  all  dark  and  red  "  of  which  I 
hear  there  has  been  a  faint  whisper  of  its  being 
bought  by  thirty  admirers  of  Alfred  Tennyson  (and 
also  of  E.L.)  at  ten  guineas  each,  as  a  wedding 
present  for  Hallam.  .  .  .  Hallam  Tennyson  has  just 
sent  me  his  photograph  and  that  of  Audrey  Boyle ; 
her  face  is  delightful,  and  the  dressing  of  her  hair  a 
lovely  example  to  the  myriad  fooly-idiots  of  fashion. 

P.S.  My  poor  servant  Nicola  Cocali  left  Sal- 
somaggiore  for  Milan  yesterday,  and  the  reports  of  the 
Doctor  and  Innkeeper  were  on  the  whole  good.  Bill 
altogether  £  1 1 ,  and  that  is  cheap  if  the  poor  fellow  is 

312 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

benefited.  Anyhow,  no  son  of  George  Cocali  shall  die 
in  a  Hospital  if  I  can  help  it.  Same  time  I  send  £lo 
by  sister  Ellen  to  that  poor  foolish  Texas  brother,  and 
;£io  to  a  Nartist  as  is  unphortschnit.  So  Charity,  you 
see,  don't  always  begin  at  home. 


u^ 


Hotel  Cavour, 
Milano. 

8  September j  1884. 

There  has  been  an  envellope  written  for  you  for 

weeks  past,  but  I  find  at  this  moment  that  it  is  packed 

up  and  sent  off  in  the  big  trunks, — whereby  I   take 

another,  and  will  fill   it  with  this  letter  if  I  can  do 


so. 


You  know  my  old  mode  of  noting  down  a  dinner 
— society — what  do  you  think  of  this? 


313 


Later   Letters  of  Edward   Lear 

(I  must  however  hasten  to  tell  you  that  the  Layards 
were  not  at  the  dinner,  having  gone  off  to  Venice 
the  day  before,  but  all  the  rest  is  correct.) 

Northbrook  sent  me  the  kindest  letter  just  before  he 
started ;  (I  believe  he  would  have  come  up  to  Recoaro 
if  he  had  gone  to  Trieste  by  the  Venice  line)  but  he 
says  he  will  come  and  see  me  at  Sanremo  in  Novem- 
ber. This  I  doubt  about ;  and  his  going  at  all  to 
Egypt r  is  to  me  a  grief,  though  if  any  straightforward- 
ness and  administrative  ability  can  compensate  for 
crooked  imbecility  and  bad  statesmanship,  I  believe 
that  he  is  about  the  best  man  who  could  be  there,  as 
well  also  as  Evelyn  Baring.  But  with  a  policy,  or 
rather  no  policy,  of  shilly-shally  Suakim-Soudan 
stupidity,  I  do  not  look  for  much  hopeful  result, 
though  I  doubt  if  Lord  Salisbury  would  be  a  happier 
Factor.  .  .  . 

My  Gallery  at  129  Wardour  Street  don't  thrive  at 
present ;  but  as  it  remains  stationary,  I  don't  see  any 
particular  reason  for  doubting  its  success  by  little  and 
little  as  the  man  said  when  he  threw  the  gunpowder 
in  the  fire.  I,  and  Mr.  Williams  shall  have  to  consider 
whether  some  Advertisement  will  not  be  advisable. 
After  all  do  not  Royal  Academicians  "advertise" 
when  they  hang  their  pictures  on  public  walls  ? 

Hallam  Tennyson  has  sent  me  (along  with  a  photo- 
graph of  Mrs.  H.T.  and  of  himself,)  a  sonnet  on  my 
Villa  at  Sanremo.2  .  .  . 

1  The  Earl  of  Northbrook  and  Lord  Wolseley  left  London 
for  Egypt  together,  the  former  as  British  High  Commissioner, 
the  latter  to  take  charge  of  the  military  operations  for  the 
relief  of  Khartoum. 

2  See  Appendix  A,  p.  363. 

3H 


San    Remo  and   Northern   Italy 

You  would  have  been  edified  by  the  society  of 
several  Americans  at  Recoaro.  One,  a  well-bred  and 
educated  family,  electrified  me  by  their  opinion  on 
"Slave  Emancipation."  "It  had  nothing  to  do  with 
hatred  of  slavery,  though  hatred  of  slavery  was  used  as 
a  factor  in  the  matter.  It  was  wholly  in  substance  a 
political  move  against  the  Southern  States.  Not  one 
of  us,  nor  of  thousands  in  America,  would  sit  at  table 
with  a  black  man  or  woman  \n  "  But,"  said  I  to  one 
of  the  sons,  "you  would  sit  in  a  room  with  your  dog?  " 
— "Dog?  Yes,  Sir!  but  you  can't  compare  an 
inferior  creature  such  as  a  negro  is  with  a  dog  ? " 
There  were  other  lots  of  Americans  not  so  agreeable, 
and  I  often  got  out  of  their  way — particularly  when 
they  reviled  and  ridiculed  Q[ueen]  Victoria].  And  as 
I  never  spoke  on  political  subjects,  I  listened  to  their 
praise  of  your  Capo  the  G.O.M.  in  silence,  or  fled  : 
especially  when  they  predicted  his  careful  gradual 
bringing  about  a  Republic,  and  "  Wall,  Sir,  I  think 
old  G.  is  the  right  sort  of  man  :  rayther  than  give  up 
a  spikket  of  power  he  will  go  on  with  the  mob  till  they 
pull  down  the  Peers  as  they  ought  to  do,"  and  after 
that,  though  he  would  cry  hot  tears  all  the  time,  he 
would  order  Queen  V's  decapitation  quite  easy,  and 
go  on  cutting  down  trees  all  the  more." 

It  is  a  virtue  in  ingenuous  youth, 

To  leave  off  lying  and  return  to  truth, 

For  well  it's  known  that  all  religious  morals 

Are  caused  by  Bass's  Ale  and  South  Atlantic  Corals. 

Whereby,  as  I  have  just  found  the  missing  2\ 
Envellope,  I  shall  sacrifice  that  sum  to  the  redistribu- 
tion of  facts  and  the  annihilation  of  phibs. 

For  whereas  I  wrote  that  I  sat  near  a  son  of  Lady 

3i5 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Walsingham,  no  such  circumstance  took  place,  seeing 
that  the  said  Lady  Walsingham,  heretofore  Duchess 
of  Sant'  Arpino,  never  had  no  son,  but  only  one 
daughter,  which  that  there  daughter  married  one  of 
the  Colonna, — but  the  boy  as  I  sate  next  to — and  who 


is  a  most  intelligent  little  urchin,  is  the  son  of  the 
Duke  of  San  Teodoro  (formerly  Sant'  Arpino)  by  the 
Strauss,  who  lives  with  the  Duke  of  ST,  and  must 
have  been  so  living  for  years,  since  the  intelligent 
urchin  is  some  15  years  old.     The  Strauss  is  a  well- 

316 


San   Remo  and   Northern  Italy 

known  Singer  connected  with  the  Paris  Opera,  and  is 
a  vast  big  bouncing  female,  and  the  other  two  females 
are  her  sister  and  her  cousin — all  "  travelling  together  " 
as  part  of  the  diaphanous  Duke's  family.  The  dinner 
party  would  therefore  stand  thus — 


J3<2 


^7*9<- 


and  that  is  all  to  be  said  on  this  subject. 

Sept.  13, 1884. 
One  of  my  correspondents  writes,  "  I  dare  say  you 
know  much  more  of  these  matters  than  I  do,  but  as  J 
know  that  Lord  Carlingford  is  one  of  your  kindest  old 
friends,  I  must  tell  you  that  in  various  papers  he  is 
said  to  be  leaving  the  ministry  on  account  of  ill- 
health."  Of  this  the  only  additional  oblique  confirma- 
tion is  that  in  the  paper  of  the  nth.  just  come  it  is 
said  :  "  Lord  Carlingford  is,  it  is  reported,  going  to 
Berlin  to  replace  Lord  Ampthill."  I  do  not  say  that 
any  of  these  rumours  may  not  be  correct,  though  on 
reading  that  there  was  to  be  a  round  of  change  at  the 
Embassies  I  fixed  in  my  own  mind  that  you  would  go 
to  Madrid  and  Morier  would  ascend  to  Berlin,  or  go 
on  to  Constantinople  or  Rome.  And  in  no  case  did 
it  strike  me  as  impossible  that  your  name  might  follow 
— though  late — those  of  Lord  Lansdowne,  Lord  Cow- 
per,  Duke  of  Argyll,  Messrs.  Goschen  and  Forster,  as 

3*7 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

standing  aloof  from  the  G.O.M.  and  revolutionists 
generally.  .  .  .  Among  the  letters  I  found  was  a 
particularly  nice  and  long  one  from  Frank  (Viscount) 
Baring,  with  messages  from  Lady  Emma  and  a  great 
deal  about  their  father.  .  .  .  Did  I  ever  send  you  all 
the  titles  of  the  200  subjects  of  my  Tennyson  illustra- 
tions r  ?  If  I  didn't  I  will  do  so,  viz  :  all  if  you  tell  me. 
Did  I  tell  you  Hallam  has  written  a  sonnet  on  Villa 
Tennyson  ? 

Sep  28th.  1884. 

The  "  40scue  "  is  the  writing  table  at  which  I  am 
now  writing — which  you  gave  me  in  Stratford  Place 
in  1849  or  1850.  The  F.  L.  sofa  is  an  object  of 
similar  value — given  me  by  Frank  Lushington.  I  lie 
on  this  one  and  sit  at  the  other  most  days,  nearly  all 
day.  .  .  .  Alfred  Seymour  who  after  many  criticisms 
on  the  works  I  now  have  exhibiting  at  129  Wardour 
St.  writes  "  Take  the  entire  lot,  oil  and  water  colors,  I 
do  not  think  you  have  ever  done  anything  better.  The 
Ravenna  and  Gwalior  are  quite  remarkable,  as  are 
indeed  also  the  Argos,  and  the  poetical  and  mys- 
terious Pentedatilo.  The  Corsican  drawings  are  all 
lovely, — some  more  striking  than  others,  according 
to  the  subject  chosen." 

3.  November.  1884. 

From  the  time  I  last  wrote  to  you,  (I  think  Septem- 
ber 30th)  I  have  been  in  most  disagreeable  trouble,  of 
a  kind  which  to  me  is  very  painful  :  of  this  anon.  .  .  . 

Just  as  I  take  up  this  paper  to  write,  I  see  in  the 

Daily  Telegraph  what  appears  a  sort  of  semi-official 

announcement  that  you  are  leaving  the  Ministry,  and 

even  if  on  no  other  account,   the  possibility  of  my 

1  Appendix  D,  see  p.  368. 

31? 


San   Remo  and   Northern   Italy 

seeing  you  here  is  a  something  to  look  forward  to, 
and  at  once  (having  also  observed  that  you  are  going 
to  or  gone  to  Balmoral)  I  send  this  thither  to  remind 
you  that  if  you  do  come  to  Sanremo,  (where  you 
certainly  would  be  quiet  enough  this  year !)  I  can 
put  you  up  most  perfectly,  opposite  the  sea  and 
garden,  with  a  bed  and  sitting-room.  If  you  came 
for  a  long  period  (I  don't  write  "Peeriod"  out  of 
respect  to  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  other  haters  of 
Lords,)  you  would  like  to  pay  for  your  Board,  and 
might  make  what  arrangements  you  pleased  :  you 
could  likewise  have  your  own  servant  in  the  house, 
for  shortly  I  shall  have  nearly  all  my  "  Establish- 
ment "  '  revised  and  corrected,' — having  already  a 
new  Milanese  servant,  and  a  good  cook  is  coming. 
I  think  too  that  your  coming  here  and  living  as 
quietly  as  you  pleased  would  benefit  this  child  and 
prevent  his  "  taking  to  drinking."  Should  the  living 
with  me  not  suit  you,  then  I  beg  you  to  remember 
that  the  HOTEL  ROYAL  joins  my  garden  and 
is  in  all  respects  a  good  place  to  be  in :  the  Bertolini 
are  a  respectable  and  good  lot,  and  there  any  amount 
of  rooms  to  choose  from. 

Of  my  trouble  I  shall  say  as  little  as  possible, 
though  it  is  really  a  shocking  matter  to  me. 
Demetrio  Cocali,  poor  George's  youngest  son,  who 
has  served  me  so  faithfully  since  his  father's  death, 
has  gone  altogether  to  the  bad  and  has  left  me.  I 
only  discovered  his  ways  after  I  left  Recoaro,  but 
on  returning  here  found  it  was  impossible  to  keep 
him  in  my  service.  The  intellect  of  these  poor 
people  is  so  shallow  and  semi-useless  that  I  would 
make   all   allowance   for  a  lad   of   19   whom  I  have 

319 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

taught  to  read  and  write  etc.,  and  whose  father  was 
so  good  a  servant  to  me  for  so  long  a  time ;  but 
with  all  my  desire  to  save  a  human  being  from  ruin, 
I  could  not  see  my  way  to  do  so.  The  bad  company 
he  has  frequented  will  I  don't  doubt  eventually  bring 
him  to  total  misery. 

There  remains  now  only  his  eldest  brother  Nicola, 
a  thoroughly  good  man  aet.  33 — as  far  as  I  have 
known  him — a  devoted  son  to  his  mother  now  dead, 
and  for  the  last  two  or  three  years  doing  all  for 
his  poor  Father.  But  he  is  gradually  dying  of  con- 
sumption, and  though  still  able  to  cook  at  times, 
is  less  and  less  at  work  and  more  and  more  obliged 
to  lie  down.  In  these  difficulties  I  have  got  a  highly 
recommended  man  from  the  Cavour  at  Milan,  and 
have  written  for  a  second  to  act  as  cook  :  ugly  and 
expenseful  doings,  but  I  have  been  all  my  life  "  in 
difficulties." 

They  would  certainly  look  less  ugly  if  you  were  to 

come  out. 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Balmoral  Castle. 

Nov.  6.  1884. 

...  I  find   the  Queen  remarkably  well,  better  in 

body  and  mind  than  I  have  seen  her  for  a  long  time, 

though   anxious   about   public   affairs.     The   lady  in 

waiting  is  the  widowed  Duchess  of  Roxburghe,  whom 

I    like.     Princess    Frederica   of    Hanover I    and   her 

husband    Baron    Pawel    von    Rammingen    are    here. 

He  is  a  pleasing  sort  of  man  in  an  awkward  posi- 

1  H.R.H.  Princess  Frederica,  daughter  of  George  V.,  ex- King  of 
Hanover,  and  a  sister  of  the  present  Duke  of  Cumberland,  mar- 
ried Baron  von  Pawel  Rammingen,  K.C.B.,  at  Windsor  in  1880. 

320 


San  Remo  and  Northern   Italy 

tion— (one  of  the  servants  informed  a  Maid  of 
Honour  that  u  Mrs.  Rummagem  was  come  ").  She 
is  very  tall,  distinguished  and  charming.  She  was 
one  of  the  last  people  we  received  at  Carlton  Gardens 
in  '79,  and  she  speaks  to  me  warmly   of  my  Lady. 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

2.  December  1884. 

I  was  very  glad  to  get  your  nice  letter  from 
Balmoral ;  I  believe  those  parts  of  your  Ministerial 
duty  are  very  good  for  you.  In  a  letter  I  had  from 
Henry  Grenfell  to-day  he  speaks  well  of  your 
health ;  I  am  glad  to  find  from  a  letter  of  his  I  saw 
in  print,  that  this  dirty  Landscape  painter  is  not 
eccentric  and  monomaniac  as  to  his  opinion  about 
the  Right  Hon.  Joseph  (re.  "toil  not  neither  spin" — 
Down  with  the  Lords  !  etc,  etc, — would  you  become 
plain  Mr.  Samuel  Chichester  Fortescue — if  Mr. 
Thorold  Rogers  had  his  way  ?)  My  chief  advice  now 
is  this — before  it  is  too  late,  utilize  the  big  Phoca 
privata :  he  would  bring 
you  across  the  Channel  or 
take  you  round  by  the  Bag 
of  Biscuits  and  you  could 
land  just  below  Villa 
Tennyson  at  Sanremo. 

The  "  household  difficulties  "  as  you  call  them  are 
trying  to  this  child.  After  trusting  and  teaching  a 
lad  for  six  or  seven  years  to  find  him  such  an  absolute 
hypocrite  and  good  for  nothing  and  untrustworthy! 
I  have  heard  of  Demitri  having  reached  Brindisi, 
almost  penniless  and  with  not  enough  money  even 

321  x 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

to  cross  to  Corfu :  yet  he  certainly  had  over  ^"30 
from  savings  and  pay  when  he  left  this  house. 
His  good  brother  Nicola  is  always  extremely  ill, 
and  yet  up  to  two  days  ago  would  persist  in  cook- 
ing ;  (would  to  goodness  his  successor  cooked  as 
he  does !)  He  is  now  a  great  part  of  the  day  lying 
down,  and  often  miserably  depressed  on  account  of 
his  brother's  acts.  All  I  can  do  is  to  grin  and  hold 
on,  though  among  other  drawbacks,  the  expense  of 
these  days  ain't  at  all  pleasant.  Yet  if  a  man  resolves 
to  do  what  he  thinks  a  duty — done  it  must  be,  and  I 
have  so  often  been  in  great  difficulties  that  at  aet  72 J 
it  is  not  worth  while  to  be  over  anxious,  however 
sad  one  may  be.  The  new  personal  servant,  Luigi 
Rusconi,  seems  a  jewel ;  .  .  .  the  new  cook,  Pietro 
Pavedi  (also  recommended  by  Suardi  of  the  Cavour 
Hotel,)  don't  seem  greatly  gifted,  but  I  have  to 
remember  that  my  great  economy  is  not  favourable 
to  culinary  genius. 

Hardly  a  creature  is  at  Sanremo.  Lady  Agnes 
Burne  (Lady  Fitzwilliam's  sister,)  called  some  days 
ago,  but  I  don't  expect  to  sell  nothing  this  winter.  .  .  . 
Happily  Sir  J.  Lubbock l  bought  some  drawings 
lately,  for  I  am  becoming  tinless  and  tearful.  .  .  . 

I  am  sorry  for  Northbrook,  on  account  of  all  sorts 
of  odious  articles  against  him,  and  now  particularly 
that  Bonham  Carter  2  his  brother-in-law  has  died  so 

1  The  present  Lord  Avebury,  author  of  "  Prehistoric  Times," 
"  The  Pleasures  of  Life,"  and  many  works  of  research  on  ants 
and  bees. 

2  John  Bonham- Carter,  formerly  M.P.  for  Winchester.  He 
was  at  various  periods  a  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  Chairman  of 
Committees  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  Deputy- Speaker. 
His  wife  was  Lord  Northbrook's  eldest  sister. 

322 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

suddenly.  (Do  you  remember  our  dining  with 
J. B.C.  in  Spring  Gardens  when  except  we  two 
every    one    said    A.    Tennyson    was     no     poet — in 

1849?) 

A  letter  I  had  a  few  days  ago  would  amuse  you. 
The  writer  has  friends  in  Hong  Kong ;  but  speaking 
of  R.  Morier  and  his  nomination  to  St.  Petersburg,  he 
says  :  M  a  curious  rise  to  those  who  remember  him 
a  huge  boy  of  16:  he  wished  to  go  to  Berlin,  but 
Bismarck  vetoed.  With  him  as  with  G.  F.  Bowen, 
unfailing  confidence  in  himself,  and  untiring  watch- 
fulness to  make  good  use  of  opportunities  and  get 
himself  forwarded  have  prospered.' ' 


Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Athen^um  Club. 

Bee.  5.  1884. 

Your  welcome  letter  came  this  morning.  I  have 
just  come  from  the  House  of  Lords,  where  the 
Franchise  Bill I  passed  without  a  word  said — a  very 
remarkable  political  event,  which  ought  to  strike 
foreigners  as  a  proof  of  the  great  political  sense  of 
this  country.  The  Queen  told  me  on  Saturday  that 
the  two  leaders  spoke  to  her  in  the  highest  terms 
each  of  the  conduct  of  the  other,  in  respect  of  the 
negociations  which  have  taken  place,  and  Gladstone 

1  The  frank  adoption  by  Lord  Salisbury  of  a  democratic 
programme  of  reform  had  greatly  assisted  the  solution  of  the 
question,  and  the  previous  agreement  of  the  leaders  of  the  two 
parties  rendered  futile  the  opposition  of  those  whose  seats 
were  threatened  with  extinction. 

323 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

has  spoken  to  me  with  much  admiration  of  Salisbury. 
H.  M.  also  spoke  to  me  in  the  kindest  possible  way 
of  the  newspaper  reports  of  my  resignation. 

You  draw  the  Phoca  beautifully.  The  last  event 
of  the  Privy  Seal  Office  is  that  my  private  secretary 
.  .  .  has  privily  forged  various  documents  and 
cheated  a  charitable  association,  of  which  he  was 
secretary,  and  has  received  the  very  mild  sentence 
of  a  year's  imprisonment.  .  .  . 

P.  S.  Anecdote — My  solicitor's  daughter,  copying 
picture  in  National  Gallery.  British  citizen  gazes 
long  at  the  picture  and  the  copy — at  last  speaks : 
"  Please,  Miss,  can  you  tell  me  what  they  do  with  the 
old  'uns  ?  " 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingfora. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 

21.  December  1884. 

I  agree  with  all  you  say  about  R.D.  Morier, 
and  G.F.B.  .  .  .  R.D.M.  I  never  thought  a 
"Noomboog"  (as  Hudson  the  Railway  King  said 
to  Prince  Albert — I  was  close  by  the  company  at 
the  time)  H.R.H.  :  "  Mr.  Hudson,  what  is  your 
opinion  of  the  Atmospheric  Railway  ?  "  Hudson — 
"  please  your  rile  mess,  I  think  it  is  a  Noomboog." 
H.R.H. — turning  to  Lord  Farnham,  "Explain  to 
me  what  is  a  Noomboog  ?")... 

My  poor  Nicola  keeps  sinking  very  gradually, 
Dr.  H assail  does  wonders  in  alleviation  of  suffering, 
and  Nicola  now,  not  being  able  to  stand  for  any 
length  of  time,  passes  his  day  mostly  sitting  by  the 
kitchen   fire,    or   lying    on    his    bed.     He   is   always 

324 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

grateful  and  good  and  uncomplaining.  His  brother 
Dimitri  is  at  Corfu,  and  will  get  employment  there 
at  a  Trattoria.  Lambi  is  at  Brindisi.  This  is  a 
comfort  to  me  as  well  as  to  poor  Nicola.  It  is  my 
fixed  belief  that  a  resolute  determination  to  assist 
those  whose  miserable  want  of  sense  and  principle, 
together  with  tendencies,  temptations,  and  circum- 
stances to  us  unknown,  tends  to  being  one  of  the 
best  forms  of  charity  we  can  aim  at  achieving ;  and 
I  scout  the  notion  of  treating  domestics  less  kindly 
than  horses  or  dogs  ;  and  even  when  they  are  ever 
so  much  in  fault  I  think  it  is  wiser  to  try  and  keep 
them  from  total  ruin,  than  to  be  indifferent  to  their 
welfare.  And  if  I  am  laughed  at  for  these  ideas 
and  acts, — I  don't  care  for  that  the  999th  part  of  a 
spider's  nose.  The  new  cook  was  a  distinct  failure  : 
Luigi  Rusconi  and  Nicola  suspected  him  from  the 
first,  and  from  the  back  kitchen  window,  L.R.  saw 
him — (unperceived,  for  the  cookly  back  was  turned) 
empty  the  half  of  bottles  of  wine  into  a  jar  and 
filling  them  up  with  water ;  whereon,  speedily  calling 
Nicola,  both  together  entered  the  back  kitchen  by 
the  door,  and  took  him  in  the  fact,  so  that  he  could 
not  denige  the  theft,  and  had  to  go.  Since  his 
departure,  I  have  my  own  meals  in  from  the  Hotel 
Royal,  while  Luigi  gets  and  cooks  for  himself  and 
poor  Nicola.  As  for  Luigi  Rusconi,  he  continues 
to  be  one  of  the  best  servants  possible — punctual — 
obliging — industrious — clean — intelligent,  and  very 
good  to  poor  Nicola,  for  which  I  am  very  thankful, 
for  these  small  worries  are  trying.  .  .   . 


325 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 

Dec.  22.  1884. 

I  write  because  I  wish  you  to  have  a  few  words 
of  greeting  on  or  before  Christmas  Day.  I  have 
little  to  tell  you  about  myself,  except  that  the 
newspapers  have  at  last  left  off  informing  the  world 
that  I  am  in  bad  health  and  about  to  resign  office. 
You  will  have  seen  the  happy  results  of  the  Autumn 
Session,  which  have  secured  the  accomplishment  of 
a  great  and  inevitable  constitutional  change  without 
further  conflict  between  Parties,  or  between  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament.  I  wish  foreign  affairs  looked 
as  well  as  affairs  at  home. 

I  paid  a  visit  a  week  ago  to  Lord  Granville  l  at 
Walmer,  and  I  do  not  envy  his  responsibilities. 
There  I  met  a  curious  mother  and  son — the  mother 
the  Duchesse  de  Galliera,  and  the  son  calling 
himself  Monsieur  Ferrari.  The  Gallieras  (the  Duke 
is  dead)  are  a  great  and  wealthy  Genoese  family 
long  settled  in  Paris.  The  son  refuses  to  take  the 
title  or  the  fortune.  He  behaves  like  an  idiot  in 
society,  but  is  a  Professor  of  History  in  some  Paris 
Institution.  The  Duchess  is  disposing  of  her  wealth 
by  great  acts  of  charity  and  generosity.  She  has 
just  built  a  hospital  at  Genoa.  She  has  given  an 
hotel  and  an  estate  at  Bologna  to  the  Due  de 
Montpensier,    and   she   has   given   up   the  first  floor 

1  Foreign  Secretary  for  the  third  time  from  1880  to  1885.  He 
had  to  face  the  troubles  in  the  Soudan,  differences  with  Germany 
and  France,  and  the  threatened  rupture  with  Russia  over  the 
Afghan  boundary  question. 

326 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

of  her  magnificent  house  in  Paris  to  the  Count  and 
and  Countess  de  Paris. 

I  am  here  alone,  as  usual.  The  Boyles  who  live 
close  by,  will  eat  their  Christmas  dinner  with  me. 
Constance  who,  as  you  know,  lives  seven  miles  off, 
cannot  of  course  leave  her  own  home.1  I  was  there 
two  days  ago,  and  found  Sir  Edward2  much 
revived,  and  more  active  than  he  has  been.  I 
hope  I  shall  hear  from  you  before  long.  Have  you 
got  the  Tennysonian  drama?  I  am  prepared  to  be 
disappointed.  I  have  a  letter  today  from  Miss 
Nightingale  begging  me  to  give  a  good  appoint- 
ment in  the  Education  Department  to  a  clever  son 
of  Arthur  Clough,  who  was  once  (much  to  our 
honour)  in  the  Office  himself.  I  fear  that  I  must 
appoint  another  candidate,  much  against  my  wishes. 

Goodbye  for  today.  We  are  both  very  lonely. 
You  must  fancy  me  at  my  solitary  meals,  with  your 
pictures  externally  and  others  internally  for  company. 


Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 

Jan.  24.  1885. 

We  live  in  strange  times.  Just  as  I  was  sitting 
down  to  write  to  you  five  minutes  ago,  a  telegram 
was  put  into  my  hands — "  Two  dynamite  explosions 
at  Houses  of  Parliament  today.  Westminster  Hall 
much  damaged.     House  of  Commons  wrecked  inside 

1  Sutton  Court. 

2  Sir  Edward  Strachey,  father  of  the  present  Baronet. 

327 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

— seven  persons  injured." l  This  is  a  success  for 
these  infernal  villains,  and  it  seems  next  to  impossible 
to  catch  them,  so  long  as  the  conspirators  don't 
betray  each  other. 

...  I  think  I  owe  you  a  letter.  I  remember 
your  last  contained  a  good  deal  of  damning  and 
cursing  of  Gladstone,  which  I  trust  relieved  you 
somewhat.  I  of  course  can't  join  you  in  that 
occupation,  though  I  have  never  been  a  worshipper 
at  that  shrine.  I  believe  him  to  have  done  great 
services  to  his  country  as  a  legislator  and  Parliament 
man,  but  in  foreign  affairs  I  sigh  for  Palmerston.  .   .  . 

I  have  been  spending  more  of  my  life  than  I 
like  on  the  Great  Western  Railway,  and  on  Monday 
I  am  off  again,  in  order  to  attend  a  Council  at 
Osborne  for  the  Royal  Assent  to  the  Battenberg- 
Beatrice  marriage.  I  met  the  young  man  there 
the  other  day  and  thought  very  well  of  him,  and  she 
struck  me  as  a  changed  person,  happier  and  younger. 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 

8.  March.  1885 

I  cannot  write  much,  but  wish   to   let   you   know 

that  my  poor  Nicola  Cocali  left  me  on  Wednesday 

4th  and   that  he  was  buried   by  Lord  Mulgrave  on 

Friday  6th. 

1  On  January  24th  simultaneous  explosions  occurred  at  the 
Houses  of  Parliament  and  at  the  Tower  of  London.  An  infernal 
machine  had  been  placed  in  the  crypt,  and  another  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  where  much  damage  was  done.  At  the 
Tower  the  chief  damage  was  done  to  the  Bankruptcy  Hall  and 
the  passage  to  St.  John's  Chapel.  It  was  not  ascertained  who 
instigated  these  two  dastardly  crimes. 

328 


San   Remo  and   Northern   Italy 

For  the  last  five  days  he  was  completely  uncon- 
scious, and  seemed  to  suffer  until  latterly — though 
I  do  not  think  he  really  did  suffer  after  all  sentient 
power  had  gone.  I  had  hired  a  very  good  woman 
as  his  nurse,  who  never  left  him  day  or  night ;  and 
for  the  kindness  of  Luigi  Rusconi,  as  well  as  for 
that  of  Cesare  Ghezzi  the  cook  and  of  Erasmo  the 
gardener— and  last  not  least  for  that  of  Dr.  H assail, 
I   cannot  be  sufficiently  thankful.  .  .  . 

Tennyson  sent  me  Beckett — it  is  to  my  judgment 
— by  far  the  best  of  his  dramas. 

I  see  you  have  the  Phoca  no  longer,  and  cannot 
help  hoping  you  may  ere  long  be  in- 
dependent. ...  /Tt ■**&. 

Do  you  see  the  Saturday  Review  ?   \_~  c 

Please    read   an   article    praiseful    of   ^ 

Seals,  to  your  Phoca  ;  it  would  gratify  v/ 

that  dear  old  beast. 


19.  March  1885. 

I  cannot  now  write  a  letter  to  your  very  kind 
letter  of  the  4th  (which  I  have  only  just  got,  on 
my  return  from  Milan  after  nine  days  absence,) 
because  I  find  among  my  other  letters,  one  announc- 
ing the  death  on  the  16th  of  my  dear  sister  Ellen, 
the  last  of  my  thirteen  sisters,  set.  84.  I  will  write 
to  you  again  as  soon  as  I  can. 

22  March  1885. 

The  two  deaths  of  my  sister  Ellen  and  of  Nicola 
have  an  effect — mental  and  bodily — which  increases 
instead   of  diminishing — daily.     I   am  glad  to  think 

329 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

that  Mrs.  Clive  r  is  coming  on  Thursday — her  visit 
will  be  a  great  comfort,  as  the  want  of  spoken 
sympathy  is  sadly  wearying.  My  sister  was,  as  you 
know,  one  of  the  elder  members  of  our  large 
(twenty-one)  family,  and  as  she  was  eleven  years 
old  when  I  was  born  and  was  married  when  she 
was  seventeen  or  eighteen  I  knew  but  little  of  her 
in  my  early  days.  But  of  late  years,  as  she 
became  the  only  survivor  of  the  thirteen  sisters,  and 
as  she  lived  near  London  (close  to  Mrs.  Greville 
Howards  of  Ashstead,)  I  always  saw  her  a  good 
deal  when  I  was  in  England  :  and  inasmuch  as  for 
many  years  I  have  regularly  written  to  her  once  a 
fortnight,  and  she  (through  her  servants — for  she 
was  blind,)  as  often  to  me, — a  sort  of  continuity  of 
relationship  seems  now  to  be  all  at  once  mysteriously 
dissolved.  We  had  but  little  in  common  intellec- 
tually, yet  never  disagreed  at  all.  Spite  of  her 
narrow  Calvinistic  theories,  she  was  absolutely  good 
and  charitable  in  practice,  a  combination  as  you 
well  know  may  happen,  as  in  the  instance  of  dear 
old  Mrs.  Ruxton.  All  her  property  goes  to  the 
nephews  and  nieces  of  her  husband  who  died  about 
i860  or  earlier,  and  anything  she  may  have  had  of 
her  own  she  has  always  given  to  the  two  brothers 
in  America,  for  the  last  remaining  of  whom  (now 
aet.  82,)  I  find  by  a  letter  just  received  from  him 
and  forwarded  to  me,  she  has  lately  built  a  house 
in  Texas.  I  trust  she  may  have  provided  for  her 
two   excellent   women   servants,  who   must   feel   her 

1  Widow  of  George  Clive,  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Home  Department  1859-1862 — a  very  old  personal  friend  of 
Lear's. 

330 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

loss  pitiably,  after  respectively  fifty  and  thirty  years 
of  her  service. 

In  the  case  of  my  dear  good  Nicola  I  lose  not 
only  an  admirable  servant,  but  a  companion  whose 
great  intelligence  and  whose  perfect  disposition 
could  hardly  be  surpassed,  nor  could  his  faithful 
affection  to  myself,  nor  his  admirable  help  to  his 
parents.  The  conduct  of  his  brother  Demetri 
troubled  him  terribly,  but  with  a  true  Suliot  courage 
he  hardly  ever  gave  way  to  sorrow,  though  the 
last  three  months  of  his  life  were  a  time  of  suffering 
and  melancholy.  Almost  to  the  last  he  would  go 
on  keeping  the  accounts,  and  often  read  a  good 
deal  of  Greek  and  French  ;  and  he  frequently  said 
"  how  good  Luigi  and  Cesare  are  to  me ! "  The 
two  last  sentences  I  heard  him  speak  were  "  Padrone, 
quanto  siete  stato  sempre  a  me !  " — and — "  Spero 
frapoco  di  vedere  mia  madre."1  During  his  long 
illness  he  had  hardly  ever  uttered  a  word  of  com- 
plaint ;  but  from  Saturday  morning  February  28 
to  the  evening  of  March  4  when  he  died  he  was 
quite  insensible,  and  I  believe  suffered  no  pain. 
You  yourself  have  suffered  so  much  by  separation 
— though  in  a  widely  different  sense, — that  I  am 
sure  you  do  not  blame  me  for  dwelling  on  what  is 
a  great  change  in  my  own  lonely  life. 

Looking  to  your  letter  of  the  nth,  I  certainly  do 
wish  the  Government  had  gone  out  if  that  would  have 
led  to  your  coming  here.     As  for  the  Russian  Mess,2 

1  u Master,  how  much  you  have  always  been  to  me!"     "I 
hope  soon  to  see  my  mother." 

2  The  English  and  Russian  Commissioners  could  not  agree  as 
to  the  delimitation  of  the  Afghan  frontier  ;  whilst  the  Russian 

331 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

the  Russians  are  certain  to  gain  in  all  arrangements 
while  the  G.  O.  M.  is  at  the  head  of  affairs.  .  .  . 

30  April  1885. 
You  must  have  been  glad  to  get  back  to  England, 
for  I  know  Court  life  is  not  to  your  taste — though 
a  duty.  As  for  me,  I  never  could  have  mastered 
it  even  in  that  light ;  one  day,  after  long  repression 
of  feeling,  I  should  suddenly  have  jumped  all  round 
the  room  on  one  leg — or  have  thrown  a  hot  potato 
up  to  the  ceiling, — either  of  which  acts  would  (pos- 
sibly) have  ruined  my  "career"  as  G.F.B.  used 
to  say.  You  are  certainly  a  wonderful  cove — if  so 
be  a  Cabinet  Minister  is  a  cove,  for  writing  so 
much  and  so  kindly  to  this  "  dirty  Landscape 
painter,"  who  not  seldom  repents  of  his  violent 
writing  to  a  "  statesman  with  a  well-balanced  mind," 
— as  I  truly  believe  you  to  be.  So  far  from  'not 
respecting '  you  or  N.,  I  endeavour  to  look  at  Poltix 
from  your  point  of  view,  and  can  well  understand 
your  both  being  perfectly  conscientious,  though  I 
may  prefer  the  line  of  Forster  and  Goschen,  and 
(latterly  even)  of  Duke  of  Argyll.  "  Let  us  make 
an  oath  and  keep  it,  with  a  quiet  mind,  Not  to 
write  on  Politics,  if  never  so  inclined."  And  now 
that  the  monstrous  folly  of  supposing  that  Russia 
11  is  not  truthful,"  seems  to  be  beaming  out  on  many 
minds  hitherto  obstinately  dark,  I  wish  nowise  to 
touch  on  that  subject,  to  which  even  you  allude, 
though  I  cannot  agree  with  you  that  "  the  Russians 

Foreign  Office  was  profuse  in  conciliatory  despatches,  the  Russian 
War  Department  was  suspiciously  active.  The  difficulties  were 
at  length  settled  by  a  compromise  in  September. 

332 


San   Remo  and   Northern   Italy 

have  behaved  abominably"  since  after  Bulgaria  and 
Mid  Lothian,  Batoum  and  Dulcigno  and  much  more, 
it  appears  to  me  that  they  have  only  acted  very 
naturally.  This  leads  me  to  write  about  the  Ad- 
miralty horror  and  explosion.1  For  a  whole  day  I 
was  really  utterly  miserable,  as  the  first  telegram 
from  Turin  was  only — "  Explosion  Admiralty — sup- 
posed dynamite;  building  much  destroyed:  damage 
! great — nothing  yet  certainly  known."  In  point  of 
fact,  the  whole  of  our  friends  might  have  been 
killed,  had  the  Devilry  exploded  one  hour  later, 
when  all  would  have  been  at  lunch. 

This  mornings  post  brings  me  a  long  letter  from  N. 
The  Barings  are  all  so  little  demonstrative  that,  even 
regarding  themselves  I  wonder  at  the  calmness  with 
which  they  take  really  awful  matters.  Poor  Lady 
Emma  a  little  while  back  (after  Easter)  was  thrown 
out  of  a  carriage  at  Stratton,  and  fell  among  bushes, 
where  a  pointed  stick  pierced  her  ear,  and  went  nigh 
to  ending  life.  I  have  read  the  account  with  horror. 
She  was  driving  (?)  and  is  a  thorough  first  class  whip, 
and  with  pluck  and  coolness  enough  to  set  up  a 
regiment  of  soldiers  :  but  I  suppose  the  horse  shied 
The  reason  of  this  Baring  matter  cropping  up  after  the 
"Politix"  paragraph,  is  that  I  thought  it  right — to 
prevent  N.  writing  to  me  on  such  matters,  and  because 
I  hate  false  colours — to  tell  him  I  was  no  Radical,  and 
that  I  fully  believed  mismanagement  had  been  the 
cause  of  all  the  troubles  now  about.  Naturally  I  didn't 
run  on  in  the  Asinine  way  I   do  to  you  : — indeed,  I 

1  An  explosion  occurred  at  the  Admiralty  in  the  room  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  Swainson,  the  Assistant  Under-Secretary,  who  was 
seriously  injured.    The  explosion  was  the  result  of  an  accident. 

333 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

have  never  taken  the  least  notice  of  what  my  dear 
good  N.  writes  on  such  toppix,  and  I  even  find, 
looking  at  my  diary  of  some  time  back,  that  when  he 
wrote  to  me  about  the  Russians  having  Batoum,  I 
replied  nil — but  have  written  regarding  his  remark — "  I 
think  the  Russians  should  have  Batoum — for  the 
greater  will  be  their  responsibility  " — "  Certainly — and 
such  would  be  the  case  if  you  gave  them  Anglesea  or 
the  Isle  of  Wight."  Please  say  nothing  of  this.  You 
yourself  wrote — "  I  sigh  for  the  Foreign  Office  as  it 
was  under  Palmerston " — but  God  forbid  I  should 
allude  even  to  your  saying  so.  .  .  . 

I  have  been  often  thinking  of  you  to-day,  as  I  have 
been  working  on  Elm  trees  * — from  sketches  made  at 
"  Nuneham."  July  27,  28,  29,  30,  i860.  Hence  on- 
ward, my  letter  will  be  confused  and  indicative  of  my 
mucilaginous  and  morose  mind — all  more  or  less  queer 
and  upside  down  as  the  mouse  said  when  he  bit  off  his 
grandmother's  tail,  having  mistaken  it  for  a  barley  straw. 

Yesterday  was  a  very  gratifying  day.  Principal 
Professor  Shairp  (of  St.  Andrews,  and  Professor  of 
Poetry  at  Oxford,)  brought  me  a  letter  of  introduction 
from  Edr.  Lushington  (Lord  Rector  of  Glasgow  Uni- 
versity.) He  looked  over  all  my  two  hundred  J^ 
drawings  with  the  greatest  care  and  interest,  and 
complimented  me  about  them  as  would  make  the 
paper  rose-colour  if  so  be  I  wrote  down  his  words.  .  .  . 

Tozer2   of    Oxford   sends   me   a    charming    book 

1  For  No.  43  of  his  Tennyson  illustrations  a  And  one  an  English 
home"  (Stratton). 

2  The  Rev.  Henry  Fanshawe  Tozer,  author  of  several 
works  on  Greece  and  European  and  Asiatic  Turkey  ;  he  also 
wrote  an  English  Commentary  on  Dante's  "  Divina  Commedia." 

334 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

(wanting  in  dates  though)  by  Theodore  Bent  (Long- 
mans,) all  about  the  Cyclades.  (Dearly  beloved  child 
let  me  announce  to  you  that  this  word  is  pronounced 
"Sick  Ladies," — howsomdever  certain  Britishers  call 
it  "Sigh-claids.")  .  .  . 

I  should  greatly  like  to  know  what  has  become  of 
the  Phoca  ?     Did  he  go  to  Aix  les  Bains  with  you  ? 


^LLMz 


EDWARD   LEAR,   ARCHBISHOP  OF  CANTERBURY,    l886. 

Should  you  be  injuiced,  by  contemplating  the 
remarkable  development  of  my  "  Political  knowledge 
and  aspirations"  to  offer  me  some  lucrative  place 
under  Government,  be  assured  that  I  will  take  nothing 
but  the  Chancellor  of  Exchequership,  or  the  Arch- 
bishoprick  of  Canterbury.  Various  people  bother  me 
to  publish  my  Autobiography, — inasmuch  as  I  have 
sixty  volumes  of  Diaries:  but  at  present  I  shan't. 
Some  of  the    notes   written    in   years   when  I    used 

335 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

to  drive  for  days  on  the  Campagna  with  Lady  Davy 
are  funny  enough  ;  as  are  others  not  in  that  category. 
Now  if  you've  got  so  far,  you've  read  enough. 

P.S.  And  this  is  certain  ;  if  so  be 

You  could  just  now  my  garden  see, 
The  aspic  of  my  flowers  so  bright 
Would  make  you  shudder  with  delight. 

And  if  you  voz  to  see  my  roziz 
As  is  a  boon  to  all  men's  noziz, — 
You'd  fall  upon  your  back  and  scream — 
"  O  Lawk  !     O  criky  !     it's  a  dream  !  " 

Lord  Carlingford  to   Lear. 

Balmoral  Castle, 

May  30.  1885 

.  .  .   Don't  be  surprised  if  you  should  see  some  day 

in   the   newspapers   that   the    Reynolds,    The  Three 

Ladies  Waldegrave,   is   about   to   be   sold.1     I  have 

made  up  my  mind  that  the  estate  cannot  afford  to  keep 

the  sum  of  money  that  it  represents  locked  up — but  1 

am  anxious  that,  if  possible,  it  should  go  to  the  National 

Gallery.     Don't  say  anything  about  this  at  present 

Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Figini, 

Barzano, 

MONZA, 

Italia. 

25.  July.  1885.    6  a.m. 

Did  I   tell  you   I  used  in  old  days  often  to  hear 
Irving2  preach?     And  how  he  used  to  walk  about 

1  It  was  later  sold  to  Mr.  Thwaites,  and  is  now  the  property 
of  Mrs.  Yerburgh,  his  daughter. 

2  Edward  Irving  began  to  preach  at  the  Caledonian  Church 

336 


San  Remo  and  Northern   Italy 

Middleton  Square,  reading  a  Bible  over  the  head  of 
his  baby?  .  .  . 

Should  I  keep  alive  and  well,  I 
should  like  to  master  German,  next 
winter.  Carlyle  has  made  me  think 
of  this.  .  .  . 

What  mania  possesses  the  incomers 
to  new  titles  to  call  themselves 
"  North  "—this  or  that  ?  Nortk- 
bourne — and  now  Northmgton, I  in- 
stead of  the  real  good  title  Henley  ? 
I  believe  (vide  Duke  of  Argyll  on 
sheep)    that    the    next   batch   will    be 

Lord  North  North  West,  or  Lord  North  North  by 

North  East.  .  . 


Lear  to   Lord  Carlingford. 

1 6  August,  1885. 
Of  the  Duke  of  Argyll's  judgment   I   am  at  this 
moment  in  accord  with  you  in  one  particular  at  least, 

in  London  in  1822  with  wonderful  success.  After  his  Homilies 
on  the  Sacraments  appeared  he  was  convicted  of  heresy  and 
ejected  from  his  new  church  in  Regent's  Square  in  1832,  and 
finally  deposed  in  1833  by  the  Presbytery  of  Annan  which  had 
licensed  him. 

1  Frederick  Henley  (eldest  son  of  the  3rd  Baron  Henley) 
was  created  Baron  Northington  in  1885.  He  was  an  attache 
in  the  Diplomatic  Service  from  1868  to  1873. 

337  Y 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

inasmuch  as  he  owes  me  ^22  12s  and  I  have  written 
to  ax  him  for  it.  The  "  exigencies  of  poltix  "  naturally 
forbid  you  to  agree  with  him,  or  Forster  or  Goschen 
etc :  for  all  that  I  am  glad  you  are  out  of  office. 
What  amuses  me  most  at  this  moment  is  to  look  back 
on  the  positive  opinions  given  to  me  from  various 
persons  of  highest  office  and  repute — as  to  the  4th 
party — D.  Wolff  an  ass  :  Lord  R[andolph]  C[hurchill] 
a  furious  fool  etc — all  the  lot  incredible  boobies  and 
quite  impossible  to  rise  as  men  of  the  governing 
classes.  Yet  all  four  are  in  the  present  ministry ! ! ! ! 
you  may  say — "  still  they  are  asses  " — but  that  don't 
affect  the  fact — they  have  risen — spite  of  the  high 
opinion  of  lofty  personages.  What  you  write  of  the 
Q[ueen]  and  of  the  P[rince]sss  wedding1  is  very 
nice.  Did  you  not  like  the  lines  on  the  marriage 
by  $  ?  Emily  T[ennyson]  Lady  T[ennyson]  has 
been  taken  back  to  Aldworth,  and  Edmund  Lushing- 
ton  is  at  Faringford ;  his  last  letter  to  me  is  sad 
enough,  re  Lady  T[ennyson].  Frank  Lushington  is 
with  the  Venables  party :  G.  S.  V[enables]  2  will  have 
felt  M.  Milnes'  3  death  greatly.  You  also  more  or  less. 
I  think  I  met  him  first  at  your  house,  St.  James' 
place,  at  breakfast :  but  his  intimacy  with  Harry 
Lushington  brought  me  in  contact  with  him  often 
later.  Did  I  tell  you  he  came  to  see  me  at  Sanremo 
on  his  way  to  Cairo  ?     And  how — when  there  was  a 

1  H.R.H.  Princess  Beatrice  was  married  to  H.R.H.  Prince 
Henry  of  Battenberg  on  the  23rd  of  July. 

3  Canon  George  Venables  of  Norwich.  Select  Preacher  at 
Cambridge  since  1883. 

3  Richard  Monckton  Milnes,  Lord  Houghton  the  poet,  died 
suddenly  at  Vichy  on  the  nth  of  August. 

338 


San   Remo  and  Northern   Italy 

discussion — just   as   he    was   going   away   about   the 
G.O.M.'s     foreign     policy,    with     various    disastrous 


deductions  from  Lady  Gal  way  and  others, — he  said, 
"  Three  things  will  save  England  from  your  prophecies 
being  fulfilled:    istly   the   good  sense  of  the   Queen. 

339 


Later  Letters  of  Edward   Lear 

2ndly  the  good  temper  of  the  P[rince]  of  W[ales],  and 
3rdly  the  good  looks  of  the  P[rince]ss  of  W[ales]." 
Whereon  with  his  usual  jovial  chuckle,  he  left  my 
door,  those  being  the  last  words  I  ever  heard  him 
utter.  .  .  . 

If  I  had  a  baby  son  and  daughter,  I  would  christen 
the  boy  Bar6lo — and  the  girl  Brianza. 


Villa  Tennyson.     Sanremo. 

17.  September  1885. 

I  to  my  Riviera  home  on  Saturday  the  12th,  with 
great  regret  at  leaving  Barzano,  but  in  much  better 
health, — back  returned.  And  I  send  you  a  few  lines 
just  to  let  you  know  this  fuliginous  fact.  I  never 
passed  three  months  so  tranquilly  and  comfortably, 
that  I  can  remember,  anywhere,  and  I  should  not  have 
left  but  that  I  had  come  literally  to  the  end  of  all  my 
work  and  could  not  live  in  idleness.  The  weather  also 
had  become  wet,  so  I  could  not  go  out  to  sketch.  .  .  . 


Lord  Carlingford  to  Lear. 

Chewton  Priory, 
Bath. 

Sep.  19.  1885. 

...  I  had  a  kind  of  affectionate  feeling  for  poor 
Houghton,  and  am  very  sorry  that  he  is  gone.  Your 
story  of  his  reasons  why  your  prophecies  of  evil  would 
not  be  fulfilled  is  very  characteristic.  One  feels  as 
if  Death  ought  not  to  have  taken  him  so  seriously. 

You  write  truly  enough  of  the  whimsical  success  of 
Randolph  Churchill — a  success  not  very  creditable  to 
our  system  of  Party. 

340 


San  Remo  and  Northern   Italy 


Lear  to  Lord  Carlingford. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 

ii.  November  1885. 

I  lament  to  say  I  cannot  give  you  a  bed  here,1  but 
you  can  feed  and  be  here  as 
much  as  you  like  :  the  fact  being 
that  I  expect  F.  T.  Underhill 
to  stay  two  or  three  weeks,  on 
account  of  my  great  "vastness" 
Tennyson  Book,  which  the  said 
Underhill  is  to   Lithograph.  .  .  . 


24  November  1885. 

I  got  your  telegram  yesterday,  and  now  send  Luigi 
to  meet  you  ;  (he  don't  speak  English  :)  and  he  will 
bring  you  and  your  luggage  in  a  comprehensive  cab  up 
to  my  door.  You  will  have  to  pay  one  franc,  unless 
you  have  much  luggage,  when  the  driver  may  perhaps 
claim  half  a  franc  more. 

I  shall  be  very  glad  to  see  you — rather  that  I  did 


1  After  the  change  of  Government,  Carlingford  resolved  to  go 
and  see  Lear  at  San  Remo. 


341 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

not  much  expect  to  see  you  again.  And  I  think  it  is 
immensely  kind  of  you  to  come  so  far  to  see  this 

Pig- 

I  do  not  know  if  the  Phoca  Privata  has  a  permanent 

place,  or  if  he  is  changed  with  a  change  of  govern- 
ment. But  if  you  have  brought  him  with  you,  please 
give  him  to  Luigi,  who  will  put  him  into  the  cistern 
and  give  him  a  piece  of  bread  and  ham.  I  should  not 
like  to  have  him  in  the  Library  because  now  lots  of  my 
drawings  are  there. 


i.  December  1885. 

/  was  afraid  you  would  take  cold.  On  no  account 
whatever  allow  yourself  to  leave  the  house  without  an 
overcoat. 

I  think  I  would  not  pay  Dr.  Hassall — till  you 
are  sure  you  are  quite  well.1 

1  One  afternoon,  nearing  dusk,  Lord  Carlingford  sat  on  a 
seat  insufficiently  clothed  for  the  dangers  of  the  Riviera 
climate,  and  dropped  off  to  sleep  for  a  short  time.  The  result 
naturally  was  a  chill.  This  chill  was  the  beginning  of  a  very 
serious  illness  and  breakdown.  Lord  Carlingford  suffered 
from  the  consequences  for  a  long  time,  and  it  left  his  nerves 
in  a  permanently  weakened  condition.  Those  who  knew  him 
intimately  and  his  own  medical  adviser,  considered'  it  to  be 
consequent  on  the  great  grief  through  which  he  had  gone, 
and  under  which  he  had  at  no  time  previously  succumbed 
in  health — though  hard  worked  with  the  cares  of  office. 

342 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

6.  December  1885. 
1.  P.M. 

Dr.  Hassall  called  on  me  early,  and  told  me  all 
about  you,  and  in  my  opinion  you  are  going  on  as  well 
as  you  can  expect  to  be  after  so  violent  a  chill  as  you 
have  unluckily  taken — along  of  not  dressing  according 
to  Italian  winter  climate  which  is  hot  by  day  and  cold 
by  night. 

I  wish  some  Indian  would  buy  my  Gwalior  picture 
— which  is  now  dubbly  wallible  as  a  Nistoric  Topo- 
graphy. 

I  wish  I  could  do  you  any  good,  but  don't  see  how 
I  can  :  only  sometimes  I  wish  you  hadrit  come  out  to 
see  me. 

BUNDY   BORDING. 

21.  December  1885. 

I  am  much  disgusted  by  seeing  in  the  Daily  Tele- 
graph of  Saturday — the  following,  "  Lord  Carlingford 
is  lying  very  ill  at  Sanremo." 

Lear  Nonsense — to  Lord  Carlingford. 

San  Remo, 

23  Dicembref  1885. 

Illustrissimo  Egregio  Signore, — Noi,  i  Consi- 
glieri  Municipali  ed  il  nostro  capo — il  Signor  Sindaco 
di  San  Remo, — abbiamo  pensato  che  mandare  l'inchi- 
usi  disegni  alia  Vostra  Egregia  Signoria,  sara — certo 
il  nostro  dovere : — e  probabilmente  un  piacere  alia 
Vostra  Signoria. 

Ieri  sera,  verso  il  calar  del  sole,  si  e  trovato  nel 
Porto  di  San  Remo,  una  Bestia  assai  straordinario  e 
fuor  di  commune.  Mandiamo  a  V.  S.  il  ritratto  di 
questo  animale,  (insieme  con  un  ritratto  dell'  insigne 

343 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

pittore,  il  Sig.  Edward  Lear  chi  l'ha  rappresentato). 
Quest'  animale  sta  presentamente  in  una  Capanna  al 
Porto — badato  bene  di  50  uomini  della  Polizie. 

Intorno  al  suo  collo  si  e  trovato  un  collaro  di  Oro, 
coll'  inscrizione  seguente — 

"  Phoca  Privata  or  Privy  Seal " — 

con  il  sigillo  particolare  della  Regina  d'Inghilterra 
attacato.  Abbiamo  dunque  creduto  che  il  nostro 
dovere  ci  spinse  subito  di  fare  chiaro  quest*  affare 
alia  Vostra  Signoria,  sappiendo  noi  che  la  V.  S.  fu 
poco  tempo  fa  "  Guardiano  del  Sigillo  Private  della 
Regina." 

Ora  ci  tocca  domandare  di  V.  S. — cosa  possiamo 
fare  di  quest'  animale  ?  Potessimo  mandarlo  al  Giar- 
dino  od  alia  Cisterna  del  Sig.  Edward  Lear,  chi  V.  S. 
conosce  bene  : — ma  la  sua  cisterna  manca  spazio — non 
avendo  un'  apertura  che  de  J  metro,  mentre  che  questa 
Phoca  ha  3  metri  di  lunghezza. 

E — pero — non  sappiamo  se  sia  lecito  di  mandarla 
Phoca  all'  Hotel  Royal,  siccome  non  siamo  certo  che 
vi  sarebbe  ricevuto. 

In  somma,  dopo  molto  deliberazione  abbiamo  deciso 
di  mandare  alia  vostr'  Illustrissima  Signoria, — questa 
spiezagione  con  disegni  ragguardevoli.  E  speriamo 
che  V.  S.  si  degnera  di  accordaci  una  risposta  che 
mettera  in  giust'  ordine  quest'  affare  serio. 

Fin  ora,  il  Phoca  Privata  si  e  condotto  amabilmente 
— eccettuato  che  ha  muzzicato  e  distrutto  4  diti  delle 
consiglieri  Municipali  chi — senza  troppo  precauzioni, — 
hanno  meso  loro  mani  nella  bocca  del  Phoca. 

Ma  siccome  queste  uffiziali  sono  di  condizione  beni- 

344 


Photo] 


[Bassano. 


CHICHESTER   FORTESCUE,   LORD   CARLINGFORD. 
(About  1886.) 


Consiglieri  Municipali 


San   Remo  and  Northern   Italy 

stante,  la  perdita  di  qualche  dite — o  piu  o  meno, — non 
gli  dark  fastidio. 

Siamo,  ed  abbiamo  TOnore  di  segnarci, 
Illustrissimo  S ignore, 

I  vostri  servi  umibumilissimi, 

II  Sindaco  di  San  Remo 

Conte  Rovinzio 

Sig.  Zirio 

Sig.  Marsaglia 

Sig.  Cav.  Gastaldi 

Gandolfi 

Bottini 

Camburrotti 

Buscallivacci 

Boshii * 


1  San  Remo, 

23rd  December,  1885. 

Illustrious  and  Honoured  Sir, — We,  the  Town  Councillors 
and  our  chief,  the  Mayor  of  San  Remo,  have  considered  it 
decidedly  our  duty  and  probably  a  pleasure  to  your  Excellency 
to  send  you  the  enclosed  designs.  Last  night  towards  sunset,  a 
rather  extraordinary  and  uncommon  beast  was  found  in  the  port 
of  San  Remo.  We  are  sending  your  Excellency  a  portrait  of 
this  animal,  (together  with  the  portrait  of  the  distinguished 
artist,  Mr.  Edward  Lear,  who  has  sketched  it). 

This  animal  is  at  present  in  a  hut  at  the  Port,  well  guarded 
by  fifty  policemen.  A  golden  collar  has  been  found  round  his 
neck  with  the  following  inscription  :  "  Phoca  Privata  or  Privy 
Seal,"  with  the  Queen  of  England's  private  Seal  attached.  We 
have  accordingly  considered  that  our  duty  compelled  us  to 
make  known  this  matter  to  your  Excellency  at  once,  as  we 
knew  that  your  Excellency  was,  a  short  time  ago,  "  Guardian 
of  the  Queen's  Privy  Seal." 

Now  we  must  ask  your  Excellency  what  we  can  do  with  this 
animal.  We  could  send  it  to  the  Garden  or  to  Mr.  Edward 
Lear's  Tank,  which  you  know  well,  but  his  tank  is  not  big 

345 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


25  December  1885. 
.  .  .  Luigi  and  Cesare — to  whom  with  the  two 
gardeners  I  have  given  two  dinners  :  (as  also  money 
to  the  infant  school  here,  and  to  the  two  remaining 
sons  of  my  dear  servant  George,) — will  anyhow  con- 
vey me  up  to  3rd  floor  Hotel  Royal  at  6  P.M.  I  shall 
tell  Luigi  to  come  back  at  9 — or  9. 15.1 


/2X 


«£-~* 


enough,  having  an  opening  of  only  half  a  metre,  while  this  seal 
is  three  metres  long.  On  this  account,  we  do  not  know  if  it  is 
permissible  to  send  the  Seal  to  the  Hotel  Royal,  as  we  are  not 
sure  whether  it  would  be  received  there. 

In  short,  after  much  deliberation,  we  have  decided  to  send 
these  explanations  to  your  Illustrious  Excellency  with  the 
appertaining  designs.  And  we  hope  that  your  Excellency  will 
deign  to  give  us  an  answer,  which  will  satisfactorily  dispose  of 
this  serious  business. 

Up    to    the    present,   the    Privy  Seal    has  conducted   itself 


1  Lear  had  overdone  a  walk  and  talk  the  day  before,  and  at 
first  had  thought  it  impossible  for  him  to  join  Carlingford. 
Anyhow  he  felt  better  as  the  day  advanced  and  wrote  the 
above,  and  the  two  lonely  men  ate  their  Christmas  dinner 
together  and  were  the  better  for  each  other's  company. 

346 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

26  December.  1885. 

I  am  none  the  wusser,  but  rather  the  more  betterer 
for  your  good  dinner  and  company  yesterday. 

This  morning  has  brought  me  a  fearful  amount  of 
letters — of  which  those  from  Augustus  Drummond, 
Mary  Mundella,  the  Walsingham  Grants,  Laura 
Coombe  and  other  good  women  are  very  beneficial. 
God  certainly  made  good  women. 


amiably,  except  that  it  has  crunched  and  destroyed  four  fingers 
of  the  Town  Councillors,  who,  acting  rashly,  have  put  their 
hands  in  the  Seal's  mouth.  But  as  these  Officers  are  in  com- 
fortable circumstances,  the  loss  of  a  few  fingers,  more  or  less, 
will  not  cause  them  annoyance. 

We  are  and  have  the  honour  to  sign  ourselves,  Illustrious  Sir, 
Your  most  extremely  humble  servants, 

'  The  Mayor  of  San  Remo 
Count  Rovinzio 
Sig.  Zirio 
Sig.  Marsaglia 
Sig.  Cav.  Gastaldi 
Gandolfi 
Bottini 
Camburrotti 
Buscallivacci 
Boshii 

347 


Town  Councillors 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

29.  December  1885. 

This  is  only  to  say — don't  make  it  so  late  before 
you  come  out.  The  best  time  is  from  12  to  2.  And 
always  put  a  Sill  Kankerchief  in  your  pocket  in 
case  of  change  of  wind  :  throats  is  very  excitable 
in  these  latitudes.  And  never  stay  out  after  4 — 
better  indoors  3.45. 

I  wished  to  tell  you  that  the  Phoca  has  been  placed 
in  my  great  cistern,  whence  it  can  easily  out-be-got 
by  the  lower  water  course. 

I  give  him  four  biscuits  and  a  small  cup  of  coffee 
in  the  early  dawning,  and  this  morning  I  thought 
I  would  go  out  to  sea  on  his  back — which  I  did 
more  than  half  way  to  Corsica — for  he  swims  orfle 
quick.  I  had  previously  telegraphed  to  Miss  Camp- 
bell at  Ajaccio,  and  she  met  me  half  way  on  her 
Porpoise  (for  she  hasn't  got  a  Phoca,)  but  our 
meeting  was  very  short,  owing  to  the  amazing 
number   of  seagulls    she   herself  brought   with    her, 

who  made  such  a  d d  row  that  all  conversation 

was  unpossible.  So  I  came  straight  back  and  tele- 
graphed to  Lord  Harrowby's  Phoca  that  yours  was 
all  right. 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

1 8.  January  1886. 
Bunday  Afternoon. 

Yours   of  yesterday,    came   this   morning.      I    am 

very  sorry  to  know  you  are  still  so  poorly.     Let  me 

hear  from  you  again  shortly.     As  for  myself,   I  am 

sitting  up   to-day  for  the   first  time — partly  dressed 

as   the  cucumber   said   when   oil   and   vinegar  were 

poured   over    him   salt   and    pepper    being   omitted. 

I  go  on  with  medecine  every  three  hours — and  the 

cough — (which  has  shaken  off  one  of  my  toes,  2  teeth, 

and  3  whiskers,)  is  thank  God,  somewhat  diminished, 

but    I  am  still  very  ill — and   have  only  (till  today,) 

been   able   to  leave   my  bed   by   Luigi's   lifting   me 

out  of  it,  and  rolling  me  up  in  a   chair   till    I    was 

lifted  in  again.     It  is  a  great  blessing  that  the  sun 

is  always  so  bright. 

Villa  Tennyson. 
Sanremo. 

19  February.  1886. 

I  was  glad  to  know  both  from  yourself  and  from 
Lord  Clermont  as  well  as  from  Mrs.  Urquhart  that 
you  had  reached  London  safely.  I  cannot  help 
hoping  that  you  may  go  to  Chewton,  where  you 
have  so  many  interests,  and  where  the  air  is  (I 
suppose)  bracing.  I  hope  to  hear  you  are  sleeping 
better  bye  and  bye. 

For  myself  I  only  grow  weaker :  but  am  in  no 
pain,  though  I  have  been  obliged  to  send  for  Hassall 
this  morning  owing  to  return  of  partial  congestion 
and  new  threats  of  Bronchitis.  .  .  . 

This  morning's  post  brings  me  many  duplicates 
of  a  letter  written  by  Ruskin  on  "  Choice  of  books." 

349 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Naturally  it  is  a  matter  of  pride  with  me  that  he 
places  "Edward  Lear"  at  the  head  of  his  list  of 
ioo!!  (Vy!     Veil!     No  I  never  did!!!)!!.1  .  . 

I  continue  to  miss  your  visits  extremely,  but  could 
not  wish  you  to  be  here  now,  for  though  the  sun 
is   hotter,   the  wind  is  colder.     Hassall  irritates   me 

by  his  d d  Thermometers  and  Barometers.     As 

if  I  couldn't  tell  when  an  East  wind  cuts  me  in 
half — spite  of  the  thermometer — by  reason  of  sunshine 
— being  ever  so  high  ! !     I  told  him  just  now   that 

1  had  ordered  a  baked    Barometer  for   dinner,    and 

2  Thermometers  stewed  in  treacle  for  supper. 

P.S.  A  letter  from  Lady  Lyttelton,  with  Photo- 
graphs just  come — but  ain't  up  to  seeing  bearer — 
one  Baroness  Oppell,2  granddaughter — how?  why? 
where?  of  W.  Scott.  My  love  to  Northbrook  if 
you  see  him. 

II.  March  1886. 

...  I  have  lost  a  good  deal  of  acute  Bronchitic 
symptoms,  but  am  still  in  bed,  congestion  of  lungs 
requiring  great  care  day  and  night.  Hassall  does  all 
he  can. 

I  enclose  my  last  nonsense — but  if  it  worries  or 
tires  3 — don't  read  it. 

1  u  I  don't  know  of  any  author  to  whom  I  am  half  so  grateful 
for  my  idle  self  as  Edward  Lear.  I  shall  put  him  first  of  my 
hundred  authors." 

2  Mary,  granddaughter  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  brother,  Thomas 
Scott ;  married  Baron  Oppell  of  Wilsdruff,  near  Dresden — 
consequently  great-niece  of  Sir  Walter. 

3  I  regret  not  having  found  this,  but  believe  it  to  be  "  Uncle 
Arley." 

350 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

2.  April  1886. 

Though  I  do  not  like  to  trubbl  your  ize  or  ed, 
I  must  write  a  line  to  tell  you  that  I  have  a  beautiful 
letter  to-day  from  Lord  Northbrook,  with  a  stamped 
Receipt  for  the  ^2000.  So  I  can  do  now  just  what 
I  please  about  what  sketches  I  send  or  don't 
send. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  what  a  relief  this  has  been 
to  me. 

You  will  be  sorry  however  to  hear  that  all  the 
last  trials  of  the  Autotype  Company  have  come  back 
— all  total  failures ! !  they  adduce  some  qualities  of 
the  paper  used  for  this. 

I  am  a  little  better :  and  by  Luigi's  help  actually 
got  down  to  the  second  Terrace  yesterday ! !  but 
only  by  the  merest  toddling. 

I  hope  you  are  better  :  let  Powell ■  write  a  line. 


Villa  Tennyson. 
Dec,  2.  1886.2 

I  have  plenty  of  discomforts  just  now,  my  rheu- 
matism giving  me  great  and  constant  suffering.  But 
of  all  my  discomforts,  the  hearing  nothing  of  you 
is  certainly  one  of  the  first.  Not  any  one  letter 
from  either  your  sister  or  yourself  give  me  the  least 

1  Lord  Carlingford's  valet. 

a  Lear  had  improved  in  health  and  gone  in  May  to  Milan, 
drifting  on  to  the  Brianza,  where  he  had  been  the  previous 
year.  In  the  early  part  of  September  he  was  at  Lucerne, 
working  back  to  Milan,  from  whence  he  writes  September 
27th  :  "  I  have  at  length,  thank  God  got  away  from  Switzerland 
and  so  far  towards  Villa  Tennyson  which  I  hope  to  reach  on 
Oct  1st.  ...  I  am  still  very  ill." 

351 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

idea  of  how  you  really  are,  or  what  you  do,  or  can 
do.     I  wish  you  would  write. 

The  weather  here  is  always  bright  and  lovely, 
but  cold  now  and  I  can  hardly  keep  warm,  tho' 
I  have  fires  in  two  rooms.  I  do  not  work,  having 
nothing  to  work  on,  for  the  great  200  ^  illustra- 
tions have  come  to  grief,  the  Autotype  Company 
having  failed  to  do  any  good,  and  their  suggestion 
that  at  my  age  I  should  execute  all  the  200  drawings 
afresh  is  of  course  too  absurd  to  think  of.  But  I 
fear  this  labour  of  fifty  years  must  be  given  up 
altogether.  I  read  a  good  deal,  lying  down :  just 
now,  Charles  Kingsley's  life,  and  I  wish  you  were 
here  to  ask  you  about  some  parts  of  it.  My  own 
life  seems  to  me  more  and  more  unsatisfactory  and 
melancholy  and  dark.  Northbrook's  last  account 
of  Alfred  Seymour  is  not  very  luminous.  I  live 
all  but  absolutely  alone. — At  the  "  Royal,"  are  Mrs. 
and  two  Miss  Monro  Fergusons,  old  acquaintances 
and  pleasant  enough.  An  old  sculptor  friend  also, 
student  in  Rome  with  me  in  1836,  has  come  out 
just  newly  married  at  75  aet !  I  miss  Lushington 
extremely.  Some  Indian  books  also  (Heber  etc) 
keep  me  alive,  but  on  the  whole  I  do  not  know  if 
I  am  living  or  dead  at  times.  So  that  on  the  whole 
you  see  that  life  is  not  lively  :  and  I  trust  you  will 
write  by  wTay  of  charity  if  for  no  other  motive. 
Mrs.  Hassall  looks  in  at  times,  a  pleasant  and 
sensible  woman.  But  there  is  no  interchange  of 
thought  in  these  days.  Hassall  has  proved  himself 
an  excellent  Doctor  to  me. 

My  cook  don't  improve  and  my  food  ain't  lovely. 
I  think  I  shall  stop  this  intellectual  epistle. 

352 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

10.  December  1886. 

Once  at  a  village  prayer  meeting,  this  conversation 
took  place. 

1st  old  woman.  "  Say  something!"  2nd.  Ditto. 
"What  shall  I  say?"  1st.  Ditto.  "How  can  I 
tell?"  2nd.  Ditto.  "There  is  nothing  to  say!" 
Both.  "  Say  it  then  at  once !  " — Result.  I  send  this 
card,  but  having  nothing  to  say  but  that  I  am  not 
worse,  perhaps  rather  better  at  times,  but  still  quite 
disabled  by  rheumatism  in  arm  and  leg — right. 

He  only  said,  "I'm  very  weary.  The  rheumatiz 
he  said.  He  said,  its  awful  dull  and  dreary.  I  think 
I'll  go  to  bed." 

April  1.  1887. 
A  letter  (date  March  27)  has  just  come  from  you, 
and  I  am  so  glad  to  know  you  are,  however  slightly, 
better.  I  wonder  if  you  pay  thorough  attention  to 
regularity  of  diet,  on  which  I  believe  much  depends. 
You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  I  go  on  improving. 
I  have  walked  out  on  the  Terrace,  (always  helped 
of  course,)  and  have  been  more  able  to  balance  myself 
than  I  was  a  week  ago.  This  is  my  unvaried  scheme 
of  diet.  6  A.M.  cup  of  black  coffee.  9  A.M.  two 
eggs  upbebeaten  with  sugar,  and  then  diluted  with 
tea  :  two  pieces  of  dry  toast,  and  a  slice  of  brown 
bread  with  butter.  10.45,  a  I  glass  of  Port  wine  and 
a  biscuit.  1.  P.M.  lunch,  generally  fish  or  brains  or 
some  light  food,  and  nothing  more  unless  indigestion 
pains  in  left  side  worry,  when  I  take  a  \  glass  of 
cognac  and  water.  7.15  P.M.  bed,  which  I  am 
undressed  for  and  put  into.  I  regret  to  say  that 
my  good  servant  Achille  San  Pietro  who  succeeded 

353  z 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Luigi  Rusconi,  goes  to-day.  His  silly  wife  at  Como 
would  not  let  him  stay,  professing  to  believe  that  all 
Sanremo  was  full  of  earthquake,  whereas  nothing  has 
happened  here  though  horrors  enough  at  villages 
around. 

Northbrook's  stay  and  Lady  Emma's  were  a  very 
great  blessing  and  I  wish  them  back  hourly.  .  .  . 

I  expect  Mrs.  Parker  here  presently — Augusta 
Bethell,  Lord  Chancellor  W[estbury]'s  youngest 
daughter :  and  I  have  a  dear  little  girl,  Mrs.  Eliot, 
Mary  Nevill  as  was,  who  often  comes  to  see  me, 
whom  I  expect  for  an  hour  or  two. 

My  great  J^  work — 200  illustrations  naturally  is 
shunted  for  the  present,  whether  ever  to  be  resumed 
who  can  tell.  However,  there  is  no  doubt  that  I 
must  be  thankful  to  God  for  very  great  improvement 
in  health  during  the  last  eight  or  ten  days.  .  .  . 

Weather  here,  day  after  day,  is  perfectly  calm  and 
lovely.  If  breathlessness  allows,  hope  to  get  on 
to  the  Terrace  later.  Have  got  four  pigeons.  Have 
killed  three  flies.  Wish  Northbrook  and  Lady 
Emma  were  back.  She  is  delightful,  far  more  than 
you  would  suppose  possible. 

18.  June.  1887. 
.  .  .  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  I  am  considerably 
better.  At  7.  A.M.  to-day  I  walked  nearly  round 
all  the  garden,  which  for  flowers  in  bloom  is  now 
a  glorious  sight.  Also  the  ten  pigeons  are  a  great 
diversion,  though  beginning  to  be  rather  impudent 
and  aggressive.  Their  punctuality  as  to  their  sitting 
on  their  eggs  and  vice  versa  I  never  knew  of  before. 
The  males  and  females  take  their  turns  EXACTLY 

354 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

every  two  hours.  Giuseppe  *  (says  he)  believes  they 
have  little  watches  under  their  wings,  and  that  they 
wind  them  up  at  sunset,  8  P.M.  standing  on  one  foot 
and  holding  the  watch  in  the  other. 

Gd.  Hotel  d'Andorno, 
Andorno, 

BlELLA, 

PlEDMONTE, 

Italia. 
August  i.  1887. 

To-day's  papers  has  brought  me  the  sad  news  so 
long  expected — and  Clermont2  is  gone.  I  think 
no  better  man  has  made  the  exchange  from  this  to 
the  next  life.  But  the  loss  to  you,  different  as  you 
were,  must  be  most  distressing :  and  when  you  think 
proper  I  should  like  to  know  how  poor  Lady  Clermont 
and  the  rest  are.  It  seems  all  very  like  a  dream,  and 
indeed  reality  and  dream  seem  to  approach  each  other 
in  an  undefined  way. 

Personally,  your  brother's  death  distresses  me 
much.  He  has  been  for  forty  years  a  constant  and 
helpful  friend :  and  it  never  occurred  to  one  that  he 
would  be  the  first  to  go.  I  cannot  give  you  any  good 
account  of  myself,  the  tremendous  heat  (even  up  here) 
and  the  incessant  labour  of  knocking  away  flies 
worries  me  sadly,  and  to-day.  ...  I  can  take  no 
solid  food  whatever.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  have 
so  good  a  servant  as  Giuseppe  Orsini. 

I   am  not  up  to  writing  any  more,   so  must   say 

1  The  new  servant  who  was  with  him  till  he  died,  and  tended 
him  most  faithfully. 

3  Lord  Clermont  was  the  elder  brother  of  Lord  Carlingford, 
his  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  Marquis  of  Ormonde. 

355 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

goodbye,  only  begging  you   to  let  me  hear  of  you 
soon.     Also  of  Clermont's  last  hours  if  possible. 

P.S.  I  address  as  usual,  not  knowing  if  you  are 
called  Clermont  yet.  Someone  said  you  would  be 
Clermont-Carlingford  ? l 

Sep.  29th,  1887. 

I  must  send  you  a  line,  and  shall  be  glad  to  hear 
how  you  are  now.  As  for  my  own  life,  it  is  full  of 
sadness,  of  various  grades  :  one  of  my  oldest  friends, 
Harvie  Farquhar,  Mrs.  G.  Clive's  brother  has  just  died." 
He  was  always  full  of  kindness  and  helpfulness  for  me, 
and  his  death  is  a  great  sadness. 

Then,  my  companion  for  thirty  years — old  Foss — 
died  three  days  ago.  I  am  so  glad  he  did  not  suffer 
much,  as  he  had  become  quite  paralysed  for  two  days. 
He  had  been  my  daily  companion  for  thirty  years,  and 
was  therefore  thirty-one  years  old.  I'm  having  a  little 
tablet  placed  over  where  he  is  buried,  and  will  send 
you  a  copy  of  it  later  on.  Overleaf  is  a  catalogue  of 
my  last  works,  twenty  in  all,  and  I  think  that  no  painter 
of  Topography  and  Poetry  has  ever  done  more. 

Foss  is  buried  in  the  garden,  and  I  am  putting  up  a 
little  stone  memorandum. 

Oct.  21.  1887. 
I  am  in  great  distress.  My  dear  good  nephew, 
Charles  Street  having  died  quite  suddenly  in  New 
Zealand.  Thus  in  that  lately  happy  house  there  are 
now  2  widows,  (for  Charles'  son-in-law  died  only  a 
short  time  ago — leaving  a  widow  and  9  children)  and 
a  terrible  amount  of  grief. 

1  Lord  Carlingford  never  took  the  former  title. 
356 


C-::V=a,:    ./jf^      #' 

if         HP         1    *   * 

QUI  SOTTO 

Wn  M  ■■!  - 

STA  SEPOLTO 
IL  MIO  BL()\ 

Catto  Foss 

ERA  l\  C ASA  MIA ! 

hBl-'              jBB 

50  ANN  E  MORI 

-; 

IL  26  7*  1887 
DIETA31AWI 

EDOABDO   LEA  A 

FOSS'S  TOMBSTONE  IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  VILLA  TENNYSON. 
(The  age  of  the  cat  is  a  mistake.    See  text.) 


San   Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

Thanx  for  card.  Glad  you  are  somewhat  better. 
The  "  Nonsense  "  Article  in  Spectator,1  was  really  well 

1  A  long  article  appeared  in  the  Spectator  of  September,  1887, 
reviewing  and  giving  extracts  from  Lear's  three  Nonsense  Books 
and  Laughable  Lyrics,  etc.  V  In  these  verses  graceful  fancy  is 
so  subtly  interwoven  with  nonsense  as  almost  to  beguile  us  into 
feeling  a  real  interest  in  Mr.  Lear's  absurd  creations.  .  .  .  His 
verse  is,  as  he  would  say,  '  meloobious '  ...  he  has  a  happy 
gift  of  pictorial  expression,  enabling  him  often  to  quadruple  the 
laughable  effect  of  his  text  by  an  inexhaustible  profusion  of  the 
quaintest  designs.  .  .  .  The  parent  of  modern  nonsense- writers, 
he  is  distinguished  from  all  his  followers  and  imitators  by  the 
superior  consistency  with  which  he  has  adhered  to  his  aim — that 
of  amusing  his  readers  by  fantastic  absurdities."  This  delightful 
article  of  September  17,  1887,  was  by  Mr.  Graves  on  Lear's 
Nonsense  Books.  He  also  quotes  the  following  set  of  examina- 
tion questions  which  a  friend,  who  is  deeply  versed  in  Mr.  Lear's 
books,  has   drawn  up  for  us  : — 

"  1.  What  do  you  gather  from  a  study  of  Mr.  Lear's  works  to 
have  been  the  prevalent  characteristics  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Gretna,  Prague,  Thermopylae,  Wick,  and  Hong  Kong? 

"  2.  State  briefly  what  historical  events  are  connected  with 
Ischia,  Chertsey,  Whitehaven,  Boulak,  and  Jellibolee. 

"  3.  Comment,  with  illustrations,  upon  Mr.  Lear's  use  of  the 
following  words  : — Runcible,  propitious,  dolomphious,  borascible, 
fizzgiggious,  himmeltanious,  tumble-dum-down,  sponge-taneous. 

"  4.  Enumerate  accurately  all  the  animals  who  lived  on  the 
Quangle  Wangle's  Hat,  and  explain  how  the  Quangle  Wangle 
was  enabled  at  once  to  enlighten  his  five  travelling  companions 
as  to  the  true  nature  of  the  Co-operative  Cauliflower. 

"  5.  What  were  the  names  of  the  five  daughters  of  the  Old 
Person  of  China,  and  what  was  the  purpose  for  which  the  Old 
Man  of  the  Dargle  purchased  six  barrels  of  Gargle  ? 

M  6.  Collect  notices  of  King  Xerxes  in  Mr.  Lear's  works,  and 
state  your  theory,  if  you  have  any,  as  to  the  character  and 
appearance  of  Nupiter  Piffkin. 

M  7.  Draw  pictures  of  the  Plum-pudding  Flea  and  the  Mopp- 
sikon  Floppsikon  Bear,  and  state  by  whom  waterproof  tubs 
were  first  used. 

"8.  ( There  was  an  old  man  at  a  station 

Who  made  a  promiscuous  oration.' 

357 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

written  and  pleased  me  greatly.  It  has  been  sent  to 
me  three  times. 

I  am  feeling  somewhat  better,  but  terribly  weak, 
and  head  bad.     Can't  write. 

Beginning  to  work  on  the  200  ^'s.  large  size. 
Very  absurd  possibly. 

P.S.     Expect  the  Mundellas  to-morrow. 

Villa  Tennyson.    Sanremo. 

10  Nov.  1887. 

I  should  like  to  know  how  you  are  going  on.  I 
have  gone  back  a  gogd  deal  lately,  but  am  better 
to-day  than  for  3  days  past  when  I  had  that  nasty 
fall  on  the  Lamps.  The  pains  in  side  are  says 
H  assail  caused  by  champagne,  so  he  has  prohibited 
my  drinking  any  more  at  present — a  great  and  ridicu- 
lous bore,  inasmuch  as  Frank  Lushington  has  just  sent 
me  30  Bottles  as  a  present.  And  moreover  I  detest 
cognac  and  water,  but  there  is  no  other  way  out  of 
the  dilemma  and  it  is  certain  that  the  pain  has 
diminished  since  I  left  off  the  Champagne.  Did  you 
see  the  notice  about  one  of  my  works  in  The  Spectator 
of  Oct.  27th?  Vere  nice  indeed.  There  is  one  also 
in  "Frith's"  new  book  vol.  i.  p.  44.1  How  is  poor 
Lady  Clermont?  Is  she  still  living  at  Ravensdale? 
Write  soon  if  only  a  card. 

Yours  affectionately, 

Edward  Lear. 


What  bearing  may  we  assume  the  foregoing  couplet  to  have 
upon  Mr.  Lear's  political  views  ?  " 

1  "  Edward  Lear,  afterwards  well  known  as  the  author  of 
a  child's  book  called  'A  Book  of   Nonsense,'   was  one   who 

358 


San   Remo  and  Northern   Italy 

On  January  29th,  1888,  Lear's  end  came. 
The  above  is  the  last  letter  to  Lord  Carlingford 
that  I  have  found.  The  mistake  he  makes  as  to 
Foss  the  cat's  age,  is  repeated  on  the  memorial 
stone  Lear  put  up  in  the  garden.  Foss  was 
really  17  years  old.  "  And  the  excellent  Foss 
now  8  years  old,"  says  Mr.  Lear  in  a  letter 
of  October  28th,   1878,  p.  210. 

The  following  letter  from  Madame  Philipp, 
widow  of  Dr.  Hill  Hassall,  and  the  extract  from 
that  from  Giuseppe  Orsini  to  Mr.  Lushington, 
are  a  fitting  ending  to  these  letters,  when  the 
poor  dead  hand  had  ceased  to  tell  its  own 
story. 

Nice,  21s/  Jan,  191 1. 
I  hasten  to  answer  your  letter.  First  of  all ;  with 
respect  to  the  Italian  translation  of  some  of  Tennyson's 
poems,  including  "  Enoch  Arden."  They  are  by  Carlo 
Faccioli,1  not  by  Mr.  Lear.  Lord  Tennyson  had 
asked  Mr.  Lears  opinion  of  the  translation  and  he, 

became  an  intimate  friend  of  mine,  as  well  as  fellow-student. 
He  is  still  living,  I  believe,  somewhere  in  Italy.  Lear  was  a 
man  of  varied  and  great  accomplishments,  a  friend  of 
Tennyson's,  whose  poetry  he  sang  charmingly  to  music  of 
his  own  composing.  As  a  landscape-painter  he  had  much 
merit ;  but  misfortune  in  the  exhibition  of  his  pictures  pursued 
him,  as  it  has  done  so  many  others,  and  at  last,  I  fear,  drove 
him  away  to  try  his  fortune  elsewhere "  (W.  P.  Frith,  "  My 
Autobiography  and  Reminiscences,"  1887,  vol.  i.  p.  44). 

1  A  little  volume  Lear  sent  to  Fortescue,  which  I  now  possess, 
and  which  makes  our  great  poet  look  strange  in  his  foreign  garb 
of  wording. 

359 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

knowing  I  was  particularly  fond  of  "  Enoch  Arden," 
gave  me  a  copy  to  read,  and  when  I  told  him  after- 
wards that  the  translation  had  made  me  cry  just  as 
the  original  always  did,  he  said :  "  The  translation 
must  be  good  then,  and  I  shall  write  and  tell  Lord 
Tennyson  what  you  say."  Mr.  Lear  then  gave  me 
the  book  and  wrote  my  name  in  it  with  the  date, 
April,  1886.  Of  course  this  book  has  always  been 
treasured  by  me,  as  indeed  are  all  my  mementos  of 
this  remarkable  man. 

In  the  Introduction  to  your  delightful  book, 
page  xxxii,  there  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Lear  of  July 
31st,  1870,  in  which  he  refers  to  the  form  of  heart 
disease  from  which  he  suffered  for  many  years  and 
which  was  primarily  the  cause  of  his  death.  With 
advancing  years  he  had  repeated  attacks  of  bronchitis 
and  bad  fits  of  coughing,  with  much  difficulty  of 
breathing,  which  greatly  distressed  him.  The  pain  of 
which,  he  writes  in  the  letter  I  send,  marked  I.,1  was 
caused  by  indigestion,  from  which  he  suffered  very 
much,  and  when  the  bout  was  over  he  would  often 
write  to  me  of  wonderful  remedies  he  had  invented  for 
it ;  of  course  describing  his  symptoms  with  his  own 
characteristic  spelling. 

Of  late  years  he  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  his 
bedroom  (see  letter  marked  II.),2  going  to  bed  early 
and  getting  up  late,  and  it  was  in  his  bedroom,  very 
much  wrapped  up,  as  you  see,  in  spite  of  the  sun 
shining  full  on  his  face  (and  particularly  on  his  glasses, 
much  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  photographer !)  that  the 
last  photograph  of  Mr.  Lear  was  taken.     Foss  was  to 

1  See  Appendix  B,  p.  364.  2  See  Appendix  B,  p.  365. 

360 


Q 
W 
CD 

O 

w    • 
1-J  "-I 

?°° 


a 


w 


D 

3 


LAST   PHOTOGRAPH   OF   LEAR,    1887. 


San  Remo  and  Northern  Italy 

have  been  taken  with  him,  but  he  jumped  down  at  the 
last  moment.  In  the  photo  you  can  see  Mr.  Lear's 
hand,  as  it  was  when  holding  the  cat.  On  Foss's 
death,  the  26th  September,  1887,  Mr.  Lear  had  him 
buried  in  the  garden  at  Villa  Tennyson  and  I  send 
you  a  photo  of  the  grave.  By  the  date  on  this  it  is 
evident  that  on  the  tombstone  is  an  error. 

As  time  went  on  poor  Mr.  Lear  became  weaker, 
and  gradually  his  walks  in  the  garden  ceased  and  at 
last  he  remained  entirely  in  his  bed-room,  finally  taking 
to  his  bed  in  January,  1888. 

My  first  husband,  Dr.  Hassall,  was  constantly  in 
attendance  on  him,  and  I  was  continually  in  and  out. 
Mr.  Lear  did  not  complain  and  was  wonderfully  good 
and  patient.  The  day  he  died  I  was  there  a  long 
time,  but  he  was  sinking  into  unconsciousness  and  did 
not  know  me. 

Dr.  Hassall  and  the  Rev.  H.  S.  Verschoyle,  a  great 
friend  of  ours,  were  with  Mr.  Lear  when  he  died.  I 
was  in  the  room  half  an  hour  before  the  end,  but  my 
husband  sent  me  away,  fearing  the  last  scene  might 
try  me  too  much.  It  was  most  peaceful,  the  good, 
great  heart  simply  slowly  ceasing  to  beat.  We  went 
of  course  to  the  funeral.  I  have  never  forgotten  it,  it 
was  all  so  sad,  so  lonely.  After  such  a  life  as  Mr. 
Lear's  had  been  and  the  immense  number  of  friends 
he  had,  there  was  not  one  of  them  able  to  be  with  him 
at  the  end. 

I  shall  be  very  glad  if  anything  I  have  written  is  of 
use  to  you,  but  in  my  opinion  the  beautifully  written 
"  Introduction"  to  "The  Letters  of  Edward  Lear"  is 
the  most  perfect  and  touching  character  sketch  that 
could  have  been  written  of  him. 

361 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Norfolk  Square,  W. 

February  6th,  1888. 

Dear  Lord  Carlingford, — I  am  sure  you  will  be 
interested  in  an  extract  from  a  letter  I  received  a 
day  or  two  ago  from  Giuseppe  Orsini,  the  servant 
who  was  in  waiting  on  our  dear  old  friend  Edward 
Lear  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

"  Da  un  mese  e  mezzo  non  si  stanca  mai  di  parlare 
dei  suoi  stretti  e  stretti  suoi  buoni  amici.  Ma  il  giorno 
29,  a  mezza  notte  e  mezzo  con  mio  grande  dolore  mi 
faccio  inter  prete  dell'  ultime  sue  parole — sono  queste 
precise  e  sante  parole — '  Mio  buon  Giuseppe  mi  sento 
che  muojo — Mi  renderete  un  sagro  servizio  presso  i 
miei  amici  e  parenti,  dicendo  loro  che  il  mio  ultimo 
pensiero  fui  per  loro,  specialmente  il  giudice,  Lord 
Northbrook  e  Lord  Carlingford.  Non  trovo  parole  ab- 
bastanze  per  ringraziare  i  miei  buoni  amici  per  tutto  il 
bene  che  mi  hanno  sempre  fatto.  Non  ho  risposto  alle 
loro  lettere  perch6  non  potevo  scrivere,  perch6  appena 
prendevo  la  penna  in  mano  che  mi  sentivo  morire."  * 

.  .  .  Lear  had  given  him  an  inscription  which  he 
wished  to  have  placed  on  his  tomb. 

Believe  me,  very  truly  yours, 

F.    Lushington. 

1  "  For  a  month  and  a  half  he  was  never  tired  of  talking  of  his 
nearest  and  dearest,  his  good  friends.  But  on  the  29th,  half  an 
hour  after  midnight,  with  the  greatest  grief  I  act  as  interpreter 
of  his  last  words — they  are  these  precise  and  holy  words — 4  My 
good  Giuseppe,  I  feel  that  I  am  dying.  You  will  render  me  a 
sacred  service  in  telling  my  friends  and  relations  that  my  last 
thought  was  for  them,  especially  the  Judge  and  Lord  Northbrook 
and  Lord  Carlingford.  I  cannot  find  words  sufficient  to  thank 
my  good  friends  for  the  good  they  have  always  done  me.  Iidid 
not  answer  their  letters  because  I  could  not  write,  as  no  sooner 
did  I  take  a  pen  in  my  hand  than  I  felt  as  if  I  were  dying.'  " 

362 


\ 


APPENDIX   A. 

Farringford, 

Freshwater, 
I.W. 
ORANGE-BLOSSOM. 

Far  off  to  sunnier  shores  he  bad  us  go, 

And  find  him  in  his  labyrinthine  maze 

Of  orange,  olive,  myrtle, — charmed  ways 

Where  the  gray  violet  and  red  wind-flower  blow, 

And  lawn  and  slope  are  purple  with  the  glow 

Of  kindlier  climes.     There  Love  shall  orb  our  days, 

Or,  like  the  wave  that  fills  those  balmy  bays, 

Pulse  through  our  life  and  with  an  ebbless  flow  ; 

So  now,  my  dove,  but  for  a  breathing  while 

Fly,  let  us  fly  this  dearth  of  song  and  flower, 

And,  while  we  fare  together  forth  alone 

From  out  our  winter-wasted  Northern  isle, 

Dream  of  his  rich  Mediterranean  bower, 

Then  mix  our  orange-blossom  with  his  own. 

H.  T. 


363 


APPENDIX    B. 


Villa  Tennyson, 

San  Remo. 
March  i,  1886. 
Dear  Mrs.  Hassall, — I  don't  expect  the  Doctor  will  get  out 
for  some  time   yet,   for   it   seems   to   me   to    get   colder   and 
colder  every  day. 

I  had  another  DREADFUL  bout  of  pain  yesterday  morning, 
but  it  passed  off  thanks  partly  to  the  "  Red  "  physic  :  and  to 
Luigi,  who  for  once  was  frightened, — for  giving  me  some 
coffee  and  cognac. 

To-day  I  am  rather  better  as  to  indigestion,  but  with  more 
difficulty  of  breathing,  which  I  impute  to  the  greater  cold. 
Meanwhile  I  beg  to  assure  Dr.  H.  that  I  will  mind  his  ad- 
vice about  keeping  my  feet  warm, — and  (though  you  need 
not  tell  him  this,)  I  have  just  hit  upon  2  quite  original  in- 
ventions, (1.  for  keeping  the  feet  warm,  and  2.  for  getting  rid 
of  what  is  called  phlattulence),  and  I  believe  2  gold  meddles 
at  least  will  be  awarded  to  me. 

Your  oat-broth — (as  Cesare  Gheggi  makes  it) — is  wonder- 
fully good  ;  with  the  Port  wine,  of  which  I  take  one  glass 
daily.  Ought  I  to  drink  some  hot  water  and  put  my  feet  into 
gruel  ? 

I  shall  be  very  glad  whenever  you  can  afford  time  to  give 
me  a  visit,  but  I  don't  expect  you,  knowing  how  much  you 
have  to  do  with  your  own  invalid. 

I  see  by  to-day's  paper  that  Professor  John  Ruskin  is  about 
to  publish  a  "  Treatise  on  Nonsense  "  !  !  !  ! 

So  I  am  sending  him  3  more  of  my  books.  And  I  have 
just  written    (the   last   Nonsense  poem   I   shall  ever  write),  a 

3^4 


Appendices 


history  of  my  "Aged  Uncle  Arley." ■ — stuff  begun    years   ago 
for  Lady  E.  Baring. 

Yours  sincerely, 

(Signed)  Edward  Lear. 


II 

Villa  Tennyson. 

Octbr.  21,  1885. 
Dear   Mrs.  Hassall, — This  morning's  post  brings  me  a  very 
nice   letter   from  Mr.  Kettlewell,  which  I  think  you  and    Dr. 
Hassall  may  like  to  see,  whereon  I  send  it. 

I  was  sorry  to  see  so  little  of  the  Doctor  yesterday,  but  I 
rise  so  late  now  and  go  to  bed  so  early,  that  I  have  but  very 
little  leisure  time.  The  best  conditions  of  finding  me  now-a-days 
are  from  12  to  1  p.m.,  in  the  garden,  which  I  get  to  when  it 
is  fine. 

I  did  not  say  all  I  might  have  said  to  Dr.  H.  about  my 
health,  thinking  he  might  upbraid  (or  down-braid)  me  for 
doing  more  than  I  ought  to  do  at  my  age,  and  considering 
how  feeble  I  am,  consequently — though  I  tell  you  in  confidence 
— I  did  not  tell  him  that  I  had  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
tallest  Eucalyptus  tree  in  my  garden  and  jumped  thence  into 
the  Hotel  Royal  grounds, — nor  that  I  had  leaped  straight 
over  the  outer  V.  Tennyson  wall  from  the  highroad, — nor 
that  I  had  run  a  race  with  my  cat  from  here  to  Vintimiglia, 
having  beaten  Foss  by  8  feet  and  a  half.  Those  facts  you 
can  impart  to  Dr.  Hassall  or  knot  as  you  like. 

Yours  sincerely, 
(Signed)    Edward  Lear. 

1  Published  in  one  of  Messrs.  Warne  &  Co.'s  series  of  Nonsense  Books. 


3^5 


APPENDIX   C. 

Villa  Tennyson. 

Sanremo. 

Novr.  3,  1883. 

My  dear  Sir  John,— I  send  you  in  this  letter  2  Corpses  of 
the  most  abominable — or  rather,  bee-bominable  insects  that 
ever  made  a  florist  miserable.  The  plague  of  black  bees 
has  multiplied  here  so  horribly,  and  they  are  so  destructive 
—that  there  is  not  a  seed  of  my  beautiful  Grant  -  Duff 
Ipomoeas  anywhere,  as  the  beestly  bees  pierce  all  the  flowers 
and  no  seed  is  matured.  We  are  driven  mad  by  these  bees, 
and  have  bees  on  the  brain  ;  we  kill  them  by  scores  and  the 
ground  is  beestrewn  with  their  Bodies.  Even  the  broom  we 
use  to  sweep  them  away  is  called  a  Beesom.  Can  you  at  all 
enlighten  me  as  to  where  these  creatures  build,  or  if  they 
live  more  than  a  single  summer  ?  Or  is  there  any  fluid  or 
substance  which  may  kill  them  and  save  me  the  trouble 
of  running  about  after  them  ?  I  beeseech  you  to  do  what 
you  can  for  me  in  the  way  of  advice. 

I  saw  by  the  papers  that  you  have  been  staying  at  Knowsley 
lately — a  place  which  was  my  home  in  past  days  for  many 
years.  I  wonder  if  you  saw  a  lot  of  my  paintings  and  drawings. 
Lord  Derby  is  always  employing  me  in  one  way  or  another, 
as  did  his  father,  his  grandfather,  and  his  greatgrandfather. 
Fancy  having  worked  for  4  Earls  of  Derby  ! 

Please  do  not  forget  to  send  any  of  your  friends  to  my 
gallery  at  Foords,  129.  Wardour  Street,  where  I  have  now 
the  only  exhibition  of  my  topographic  works — oil  and  water 
colors.  You  may  have  seen  some  of  Corsica  if  Lord  D.  has 
those  of  mine,  at  Knowsley. 

I  heard  from  Miss  Mundella  last  from  Varese,  and  keep 
hoping  that  they  may  all  yet  come  here.     I  did  not  alas  !  see 

366 


Appendices 


them  at  Monte  Generoso,  which  I  had  just  left  after  the  death 
of  my  dear  good  old  Suliot  servant  who  died  there  on  Augt.  8 
last,  and  whose  death,  after  30  years  of  service  and  good  work 
has  been  to  me  a  most  serious  grief.  Nevertheless  his  2  sons 
are  now  with  me,  and  if  you  would  come  I  could  still  manage 
to  receive  you  comfortably,  and  you  might  study  the  Beeze  all 
day  long.  Some  of  Govr.  Grant-Duff's  Ipomceas  are  delightful. 
One  of  the  plants  he  sent,  Solanum  Jubulatum,  has  such  and 
so  many  thorns  that  we  cannot  walk  at  all  near  it. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Edward  Lear 


367 


APPENDIX    D. 

LANDSCAPE   ILLUSTRATIONS   OF   POEMS   BY 
LORD   TENNYSON. 

From  Original  Drawings  by  Edward  Lear, 
INDEX. 

Plate.  Illustrated  Line.  Places  Represented.  Poems, 

i.     The  sun  was  sloping  to  his    Cannes,  France  Mariana, 

western  bower 

2.  „  „  Albenga,  Italy  „ 

3.  „  ,,  Sattara  (Bombay  Presi-  ,, 

dency,  India) 

4.  ,,  ,,  Waiee  (Bombay  Presi-  ,, 

dency,  India) 

5.  Embowered  vaults  of  pillar'd    Tel-El-Kebeer,  Egypt     Recollections  of  the 

palm  Arabian  Nights. 

6.  ,,  ,,  Wady  Feiran,  Pales-  „ 

tine 

7.  Far   down,   and  where    the     Virfc,  Corfu,  Greece  ,, 

lemon  grove 

8.  The     solemn     palms     were    Philae,  Egypt  ,, 

ranged  above 

9.  From  the  long  alley's  latticed    Turin,  Italy  „ 

shade 

10.     The    waterfall,    a    pillar    of    Mendrisio,  Switzerland    Ode  to  Memory, 
white  light 

368 


Appendices 


Plate.          Illustrated  Line.  Places  Represented.                Poems. 

ii.     The    waterfall,    a    pillar    of  Oeschiner  See,  Switzer-    Ode  to  Memory, 

white  light  land 

12.  Wild  and    wide    the    waste  Terracina,  Italy                            ,, 

enormous  marsh 

13.  And  from  the  East  rare  sun-  Amalfi,  Italy                    The  Poet. 

rise  flow'd 

14.  Flowing  like  a  crystal  river  Platania,  Crete                 The  Poet's  Mind. 

15.  The  purple  mountain  yonder  Mt.  Olympus,  Thessaly                  ,, 

16.  Sweet  is  the  colour  of  cove  Palaiokastritza,  Corfu       The  Sea  Fairies. 

and  cave 

17.  One   willow   over    the   river  River  Anio,  Campagna     The  Dying  Swan. 

hung  di  Roma 

18.  Stands     in    the     sun,     and  Barrackpore,  Calcutta,     Love  and  Death. 

shadows  all  beneath  India 

19.  ,,                     ,,  Dead  Sea,  Palestine                      „ 

20.  In  the  yew- wood   black   as  Kingly  Vale,  Chiches-    The    Ballad    of 

night  ter,  England                     Oriana. 

21.  Till  all   the  crimson   passed  Pentedatelo,   Calabria,     Mariana     in     the 

and  changed  Italy                                  South. 

22.  ,,                     ,,  Calicut,  Malabar,  India                  ,, 

23.  Like  the  crag  that  fronts  the  Kasr  Es    Saad,   Nile,     Eleanore. 

evening  Egypt 

24.  Crimsons  over  an  inland  mere  Lago     Luro,     Epirus,           „ 

Albania 

25.  Thunderclouds,  that,  hung  on  Joannina,     Epirus,           ,, 

high  Albania 

27.  The  white  chalk  quarry  from  Arundel,  Sussex,             The      Miller's 

the  hill  England                             Daughter. 

28.  The  sunset,  north  and  south  Narni,  Italy                                     ,, 

369  AA 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Plate.  Illustrated  Line. 

29.  Beneath    the    city's    eastern 

towers 

30.  There  is  a  vale  in  Ida 

31.  Beneath  yon  whispering  pine 

32.  My    tall    dark    pines    that 

plumed  the  craggy  ledge 


Places  Represented.  Poems. 

Constantinople,  Turkey    Fatima. 

Mount  Ida,  Asia  Minor    CEnone. 
Phyle,  Attica,  Greece  ,, 

Bavella,  Corsica 


33*  »>  »> 

34.     A  huge  crag  platform 

35- 


36.     One   show'd,   all   dark    and 
red,  a  tract  of  sand 


Mendrisio,  Switzerland    The  Palace  of  Art 


M  e  t  e  o  r  a,    Thessaly, 
Greece 


Pentedatelo,   Calabria, 
Italy 


37.     One  show'd  an  iron  coast  Gozo,  Malta 


38.  One  show'd  an  iron  coast  and 

angry  waves 

39.  And    one,    a    full-fed    river 

winding  slow 

40.  And  one,  the  reapers  at  their 

sultry  toil 

41.  And  highest, — snow  and  fire 

42.  And  one  a  foreground  black 

with  stones  and  slags 

43.  And  one,  an  English  home 


44.     The      Maid  -  mother    by     a 
crucifix 

45*  »»  » 

46.  A  clear  wall'd  city  by  the  sea 

47.  Hills,   with  peaky  tops  en- 

grail'd 


Cape   St.  Angel o, 
Amalfi,  Italy 

River    Spercheius, 
Thermopylae,  Greece 

Below  Monte  Gennaro, 
Tivoli,  Italy 

Taormina,  Sicily 
Etna,  Sicily 

Stratton,     Hampshire, 
England 

Campagna    di    Roma, 
Italy 

Mount  Soracte,  Italy 

Ragusa,  Dalmatia 

Telicherry,     Malabar, 
India 

370 


Appendices 


Plate. 
48. 

49. 


Illustrated  Line. 
Girt  round  with  blackness 


50. 
Si- 

52. 

53- 
54- 
55- 

56. 
57. 

58. 
59- 
60. 
61. 
62. 

63. 

64. 
65. 

66. 
67. 


A  land  of  streams 


Places  Represented.  Poems. 

Mar  Sabbas,  Palestine  The  Palace  of  Art. 

Lago  Lugano,  Switzer-  „ 

land 

Vodghena,  Macedonia  The  Lotus  Eaters. 


They  sate  them  down  upon    Euboea,  Greece  „ 
the  yellow  sand 

Moonlight  on  still  waters  Philse,  Egypt  ,, 

To  watch  the  crisping  ripples    Parga,  Albania  ,, 

Only  to  hear  were  sweet  Euboea,  Greece  ,, 

All  night  the  spires  of  silver    Wady  Feiran,  Palestine    A  Dream  of  Fair 
shine  Women. 

Morn     broaden'd     on     the    Civitella    di    Subiaco,  ,, 
borders  of  the  dark                  Italy 

I  will  see  before  I  die  the    Date    Palms,     Sheikh    "You     Ask     Me 
palms  and  temples  of  the        Abadeh  Why." 

south 

D6m  Palms,  Mahatta  ,, 

Cocoa  Palms, Telicherry  „ 

Cocoa  Palms,  Mahee  „ 

Cocoa  Palms,  Aleepay  „ 

Cocoa  Palms,    Ratna-  „ 
poora 

Cocoa    Palms,    Avisa-  ,, 
vella 

Palmyra  Palms,  Arrah  „ 

Areka    Palms,    Ratna-  „ 
poora 

Sago  Palms,  Calicut  „ 

Talipat  Palms,  Malabar  ,, 
371 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 

Plate.  Illustrated  Line.  Places  Represented.  Poems. 

68.  I  will  see  before  I  die  the    Temples   of   Paestum,     "You     Ask     Me 

palms  and  temples  of  the        Italy  Why." 

south 

69.  „  „  Temple     of     Segesta,  „ 

Sicily 

70.  ,,  „  Temples    of   Girgenti,  „ 

Sicily 

71.  „  „  Temple      of      Bassse,  „ 

Arcadia,  Greece 

72.  „  „  Temple     of     Thebes,  „ 

Egypt 

73.  „  „  Temple  of  Philse,  Egypt 

74*  >>  »»  >>  »> 

75.  ,,  „  Temple    of    Dendoor,  ,, 

Nubia 

76.  „  „  Temples  of  Conjeviram  „ 

(Madras  Presidency, 
India) 

77.  „  „  Temples  of  Mahabali-  „ 

puram      (Madras 
Presidency,  India) 

78.  „  „  Temples    of     Tanjore  „ 

(Madras  Presidency, 
India) 

79.  „  „  Temples  of  Trichinopoly  „ 

80.  A  place  of  tombs  Kleissoura,  Albania  Morte  d' Arthur. 

81.  A  cedar  spread  his  dark  green    Mount  Lebanon  The       Gardener's 

layers  of  shade  Daughter. 

82.  Sighing  for  Lebanon  „  Maud 

83.  A  length  of  bright  horizon    Tivoli,  Italy  The       Gardener's 

rimm'd  the  dark  Daughter. 

84.  And  the  sun  fell,  and  all  the    Tel    El    Fill,  Gibeah,     Dora. 

land  was  dark  Palestine 

372 


Appendices 


Plate. 
85. 

86. 

87. 
88. 

89. 
90. 

91. 
92. 

93- 
94. 

95- 
96. 

97- 

98. 

99. 

100. 

101. 


Illustrated  Line.  Places  Represented. 

The  white  convent  down  the  Sta.    Maria    de    Polsi, 

valley  there  Calabria,  Italy 

Hail,  hidden  to  the  knees  in  Blithfield,  Staffordshire, 

fern  England 

Among  these  barren  crags  Ithaca 

For  all  remembrance  is  an  Campagna  di  Roma 
arch 


Poems. 
St.  Simon  Stylites. 

The  Talking  Oak. 

Ulysses. 


There  lies  the  port 


Ithaca 


Breadths  of  tropic  shade,  and     Darjeeling 
palms  in  cluster 


Khersiong 
Conoor 


Locksley  Hall. 


Ratnapoora,  Ceylon 


Summer  isles  of  Eden  Calicut,  Malabar,  India 

Darkness  in  the  village  yew       Westfield,     Hastings, 

England 

In  gazing  up  an  Alpine  crag      The    Matter  horn, 

Switzerland 


The  Two  Voices. 


102.  Across  the  hills  and  far  away    Montenegro 

103.  The  twilight  died   into  the    Coast  near  Via  Reggio, 

dark  Italy 

104.  A  light  upon  the  shining  sea      Monastery    of    Panto- 

kratora,  Mt.  Athos 


105.     Iilyrian  woodlands 


Ahkridha 

373 


The  Day  Dream. 


St.  Agnes'  Eve. 


To   E.    L.  on   his 
Travels  in  Greece. 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Plate.  Illustrated  Line. 

106.     Echoing  falls  of  water 


Places  Represented.  Poems. 

River  Kalama,  Albania    To  E.  L.  on  his 


Travels 


n  Greece. 


107. 

Sheets  of  summer  glass 

Lake  of  Ahkridha 

108. 

The  long  divine  Peneian  Pass 

Pass  of  Tempe,  Thes- 
saly,  Greece 

109. 

The  vast  Akrokeraunian  walls 

Coast  of  Albania 

no. 

»»                     »» 

Khemara 

in. 

»»                     »> 

Pass  of  Tcheka 

112. 

»»                     » 

Dragihadhes 

"3- 

Tomohrit 

Mount  Tom5hrit  from 
above  Tyrana 

114. 

»» 

N 

ii5- 

Athos 

Mount  Athos  from  the 

116. 


117. 

»» 

118. 

»* 

119. 

9) 

120. 

»» 

121. 


122. 


123. 
124. 

125- 
126. 


Mount      Athos      from 
above  Eriligova 

Mount     Athos     from 
above  Erisso 

Mount     Athos      from 
above  Karues 


Monastery  of  Koutlo- 
moussi 

Monastery    of    Panto- 
kratora 

Monastery  of   Stavro- 
nikites 

Monastery  of  Karakalla 

Monastery  of  Philotheo 

Monastery  of  Iviron 

Monastery  of  Laura 

374 


Appendices 


Plate 

Illustrated  Line. 

Places  Represented. 

Poems. 

127. 

Athos 

Monastery  of  Laura 

To  E.  L.  on  his 
Travels  in  Greece. 

128. 

>> 

Monastery  of  St.  Nilos 

129. 

»> 

Monastery  of  St.  Paul 

130. 

>» 

Monastery    of    St. 
Dionysius 

131- 

j» 

Monastery    of    St. 
Gregorius 

132. 

>> 

Monastery  of  Simopetra 

133- 

j> 

Monastery     of     Xero- 
po  tamos 

134. 

>> 

Monastery    of     Zeno- 
phontos 

135- 

j» 

Monastery  of  Russikon 

136. 

II 

Monastery    of   Dochi- 
areion 

137. 

>» 

Monastery    of    Kosta- 
monites 

138. 

>» 

Monastery  of  Zographos 

139- 

>» 

Monastery  of  Khilian- 
darion 

140. 

>> 

Monastery  of  Esphig- 
menon 

141. 

>> 

Monastery  of  Batopaidi 

142. 

All  things 

fair 

Corfu 

143- 

it 

Campagna  di  Roma 

144. 

>> 

Constantinople 

145- 

11 

Kinchinjunga,     from 
Darjeeling 

146. 

In  curves 
ran 

the  yellowing  river 

Tepelene,  Albania 

Sir  Launcelot  and 
Queen  Guinevere. 

375 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Plate.  Illustrated  Link. 

147.     In  curves  the  yellowing  river 


148.  Beyond  Ihe  darkness  and  the 

cataract 

149.  Uprose  the  mystic  mountain 

range 


Places  Represented. 
Suli,  Albania 


Wady  Halfeh,  Second 
Cataract,  Egypt 

Mount  (Eta,  Greece 


POKMS. 

Sir  Launcelot  and 
Queen  Guinevere. 

The  Vision  of  Sin. 


150.    Yon    orange    sunset  waning    Ravenna,  Italy 
slow 


151.     In  lands  of  palm  and  orange 
blossom 


Nice 


"Move  Eastward, 
Happy  Earth." 

The  Daisy. 


152-  m  »  Esa 

153.     What  Roman  strength  Turbid    Turbid 
show'd 


154.     How  like  a  gem  beneath,  the 
city 


Monaco,  from  Turbid 


155. 

»                            M 

Monaco 

156. 

Lands  of  palm  and  orange 
blossom 

Mentone 

157. 

»>                    »» 

Vintimiglia 

158. 

>»                    >> 

Bordighera 

159. 

»»                     »» 

Sanremo 

160. 

»»                     >> 

»i 

161. 

Ice  far  up  on  a  mountain  head 

Taggia 

162. 

High  hill  convent  seen 

Sanctuary   of    Lampe< 
dusa 

163. 

Olive  hoary  cape  in  ocean 

Porto  Maurizio 

164. 

What  slender  campanile 

Finale 

165. 

Nor    knew    we    well    what 
pleased  us  most 

Capo  di  Noli 

166. 

A  moulder'd  citadel  on  the 
coast 

Vado 
376 

Appendices 


Platk.  Illustrated  Line.  Places  Represented.  Poems. 

167.  High  on  mountain  cornice         Varegge  The  Daisy. 

168.  I  stay'd  the  wheels  at  Cogo-    Cogoletto  „ 

letto 

169.  The  grave  severe  Genoese  of    Genova  ,, 

old 

170.  Sun-smitten  Alps  before  me    Monte  Rosa,  from  Varese  „ 

lay 

1 7 1  •  m  » 1  Monte  Rosa,  from  Lago  , , 

di  Orta 

172.  i»  11  Monte  Rosa,  from  Monte         ,, 

Generoso 

173.  We  came  at  last  to  Como  Lago    di  Como,  from  ,, 

Villa  Serbellone 

'74'  >>  j>  »  >» 

175.  One  tall  Agave  above  the  Lake     Lago   di  Como,   from  ,, 

Varenna 

176.  That  fair  port  Varenna,  Lago  di  Como  „ 

177.  Rosy  blossom  in  hot  ravine        Petra,  Syria,  Palestine  ,, 

178.  A  promontory  of  rock  Capo  St.  Angelo,  Corfu     Will. 

179.  Calm  and  still  light  on  that     Mount  Hermon,  Syria     In  Memoriam. 

great  plain 

180.  „  ,,  Monte    Generoso,  ,, 

Switzerland 

181.  A  looming    bastion    fringed    Coast    of  Travancore,  „ 

with  fire  India 

182.  The  fortress  and  the  mountain    St.     Leo,     near     San  „ 

ridge  Marino,  Italy 

183.  On  Sinai's  peaks  Mount  Sinai,  Palestine  ,, 

184.  Silver  sails  all  out  of  the  West    Malabar   Point,    Bom-    The  Princess. 

bay,  India 

185.  On  thy  Parnassus  Mount    Parnassus,  ,, 

Greece 

377 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Plate.  Illustrated  Line, 

i  86.     The    cataract    shattering  on 
black  blocks 

187.     The  splendour  falls  on  castle 
walls 

188. 

189. 
190- 

191. 

1 92 .    The  cypress  in  the  Palace  walk 


193.  A    little    town  with   towers 

upon  a  rock 

194.  Among  the  tumbled  fragments 

of  the  hills 


Places  Represented.  Poems. 

First     Cataract,    Nile,     The  Princess. 
Egypt 

Suli,  Epirus,  Albania 


Sermon  eta,  Pontine 
Marshes,  Italy 

Celano,  Abruzzi,  Italy 

San  Nocito,  Calabria, 
Italy 

Bracciano,  Italy 

Villa    d'Este,     Tivoli, 
Italy 

(?)  Near  Orte,  on  the 
Tiber,  Italy 


Canalo,  Calabria,  Italy    Lancelot    and 
Elaine. 


195.  Between  the  steep  cliff  and 

the  coming  sea 

196.  On  some  vast  plain  before  a 

setting  sun 

197. 
198. 


Beachy  Head,  Sussex,    Guinevere. 
England 

Damascus,  Syria  ,, 


Missooree,  India 

Monte   Generoso, 
Switzerland 


199- 

200.     The  mountain  wooded  to  the 
peak 


Thebes,  Egypt  „ 

Enoch  Arden's  Island       Enoch  Arden. 


378 


APPENDIX   E. 

PICTURES  EXHIBITED  BY  EDWARD  LEAR  AT  THE 
ROYAL  ACADEMY. 


1850. 

Claude  Lorraine's  house  on  the  Tiber. 

1851. 

Street  Scene  in  Lekhreda,  &c. 

The  Castle  of  Harytena,  &c. 

1852. 

Mount  Parnassus,  &c,  Northern  Greece. 

1853. 

Prato-lungo,  near  Rome. 

The  City  of  Syracuse. 

1854. 

Marathon. 

Sparta. 

1855. 

The  Temple  of  Bassae,  &c. 

1856. 

The  Temple  of  Philae. 

The  Island  of  Philae. 

1870. 

Kasr  es  saad. 

Valdoniello. 

1871. 

Cattaro  in  Dalmatia. 

On  the  Nile  near  Assioot. 

On  the  Nile,  Nagadeh. 

On  the  Nile  near  Ballas.                                   ^ 

1872. 

Pietra. 

1873. 

The  Monastery  of  Megaspelion  in  the  Morea. 

379 


APPENDIX   F. 

The  following  Persons,  being  desirous  that  Mr.  Lear's 
Picture  of  the  "  Temple  of  Bassae,"  should  find  an  appropriate 
and  permanent  place  in  the  Museum  of  a  Classical  University, 
have  subscribed  towards  its  purchase,  with  a  view  to  its 
presentation  to  the  Fitzwilliam  Museum,  Cambridge. 


Sir  Thomas  Dyke  Acland,  Bart. 

Anonymous. 

Anonymous. 

Anonymous. 

Rev.  Ellis  Ashton. 

Thomas  G.  Baring,  Esq.,  M.P. 
William  F.  Beadon,  Esq. 
Professor  Bell,  P.L.S.,  &c,  &c. 
Robert  J.  Blencowe,  Esq. 
John  G.  Blencowe,  Esq. 
Henry  A.  Bruce,  Esq.,  M.P. 
Rev.  H.  Montagu  Butler,  Head 
Master  of  Harrow  School. 

G.  Cartwright,  Esq. 
Rev.  Charles  M.  Church. 
Rev.  William  G.  Clark. 
Lord  Clermont. 
George  Clive,  Esq.,  M.P. 
Colonel  Clowes. 
S.  W.  Clowes,  Esq. 
William  Crake,  Esq. 
Rev.  John  E.  Cross. 


Miss  Duckworth. 

Harvie  Farquhar,  Esq. 
Chichester  F.  Fortescue,  Esq., 

M.P. 
F.  W.  Gibbs,  Esq. 

Terrick  Hamilton,  Esq. 

John  S.  Harford,  Esq. 

John  Battersby  Harford,  Esq. 

Dr.  Henry. 

A.  Heywood,  Esq. 

Admiral  Sir  Phipps  Hornby. 

Lady  Hornby. 

Rev.  J.  J.  Hornby. 

Mrs.  Hornby. 

The  Miss  Hornbys. 

The  Hon.Mrs.Greville  Howard. 

Bernard  Husey-Hunt,  Esq. 

William  Langton,  Esq. 
Colonel  W.  Martin  Leake. 
Mrs.  W.  Martin  Leake. 
The  Ladies  Legge. 


380 


Appendices 


Franklin  Lushington,  Esq. 

K.  Macaulay,  Esq. 
James  G.  Marshall,  Esq. 
R.  Monckton  Milnes,  Esq.,  M.P. 
D.  R.  Morier,  Esq. 

William  Nevill,  Esq. 

T.  Gambier  Parry,  Esq. 
Edward  Penrhyn,  Esq. 
Thomas  Potter,  Esq. 
Sir  James  Reid. 

Henry  R.  Sandbach,  Esq. 
William  R.  Sandbach,  Esq. 
Mrs.  William  and  Mrs.  George 
Scrivens. 


Alfred  Seymour,  Esq. 
Sir  John  Simeon,  Bart. 
Lord  Stanley,  M.P. 

Thomas  Tatton,  Esq. 

Alfred  Tennyson,   Esq.,   Poet 

Laureat. 
George  S.  Venables,  Esq. 

Frances,  Countess  Waldegrave. 
Lord  Wenlock. 
S.  F.  Widdrington,  Esq. 
Thomas  H.  Wyatt,  Esq. 
Charles  Griffith  Wynne,  Esq. 
Mrs.  Griffith  Wynne. 
Charles  Griffith  Wynne,  Esq., 
Jun.,  M.P. 

Miss  Yates. 


15,  Stratford  Place,  Oxford  Street, 
December  10th,  1859. 


381 


APPENDIX   G. 


ARGOS   FROM   THE   CITADEL  OF   MYCEN^ 

BY   EDWARD   LEAR; 

A  Classical  Landscape,  embracing  the  Sites  of  Argos,  Tiryns, 
Nauplia,  And  the  Lernaean  Marsh  : 

IS   PRESENTED  TO 

TRINITY    COLLEGE,    CAMBRIDGE, 

by  the  following  members  of  the  college  : — 

The  Master  of  Trinity. 


Charles  S.  Bagot,  Esq. 
Robert  Berry,  Esq. 
Hugh  Blackburn,  Esq. 
P.  Pleydell-Bouverie,  Esq. 
Edward  Ernest  Bowen,  Esq. 
Professor  Butcher. 
Marston  C.  Buszard,  Esq.,  Q.C. 
The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
George  Chance,  Esq. 
Francis  J.  Coltman,  Esq. 
William  H.  Coltman,  Esq. 
Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Denman. 
The  Earl  of  Derby,  K.G. 
Rev.  W.  Arthur  Duckworth. 
Rev.  Canon  Elwyn. 
Rev.  Canon  Evans. 
Thomas  William  Evans,  Esq. 
Francis  Galton,  Esq. 
F.  W.  Gibbs,  Esq.,  C.B.,  Q.C. 
Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Reginald  Hanson, 

Lord  Mayor  of  London. 
J.  A.  Hardcastle,  Esq. 
J.  Harman,  Esq. 
Douglas  Denon  Heath,  Esq. 
Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Henry  T.  Holland, 

Bart,  K.C.M.G.,  M.P. 


Professor  J  ebb. 

Henry  Vaughan  Johnson,  Esq. 

John  Kirkpatrick,  Esq. 

Walter  Leaf,  Esq. 

Edmund      Law      Lushington, 

Esq.,    Lord    Rector   of   the 

University  of  Glasgow. 
Franklin  Lushington,  Esq. 
Vernon  Lushington,  Esq.,  Q.C. 
Charles  S.  Maine,  Esq. 
Alfred  Martineau,  Esq. 
J.  S.  Neville,  Esq. 
C.  L.  Norman,  Esq. 
Sir  Frederick  Pollock,  Bart. 
Professor  H.  Sidgwick. 
Hon.     Mr.     Justice     Stephen, 

K.C.S.I. 
Charles  Johnstone  Taylor,  Esq. 
Frederick  Tennyson,  Esq. 
Hon.  Hallam  Tennyson. 
Lord  Tennyson. 
Francis    Charlewood    Turner, 

Esq.,  M.D. 
Rev.  Charles  Henry  Turner. 
J.  Westlake,  Esq.,  Q.C. 
George  V.  Yool,  Esq. 


April,  1887. 


382 


INDEX 


Names  not  individualised  are  given  in  italics. 


Abercrombie,  Dr.,  86 
Aberdare,  Lord,  see  Bruce,  Henry 
Aberdeen,  Lady,  219 
Aberdeen,  Lord,  219,  237 
Abingdon,  Earl  of,  289 
Acland,  Charles,  267 
"  Ahkond  of  Swat,  The,"  162,  168, 

198,  213 
Ainslie,  Sir  Whitelaw,  188 
Airlie,  Lady,  250 
Airlie,  Lord,  250 
Ajaccio,  103 
Albany,  Duke  of,  241 
Albert,  Prince  (Consort),  239,  324 
Alexander,  J.,  279  J* 

Alexander  II.,  61 
Alexander  III.,  61 
Alice,  Princess,  in,  294 
Allen,  Mrs.,  7-10 
Allen,  Rev.  F.  A.,  7  ;  letter  from, 

8,9 
Ampthill,  Lord,  317 
Andersen,  Hans  Christian,  189 
"  Anne,  Sister,"  see  Lear,  Ann 
Anson,  Col.   the  Hon.  A.  H.  A., 

V.C.,  245 
Anstey,  F.,  282 
"Ape,"  109 

Argyll,  Duchess  of,  245 
Argyll,  Duke  of,  235-7,  239>  242> 

245,  278,  330,  337 
Arnold,  Dr.,  136,  138 
Arnold,  Matthew,  272 
Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  255,  257,  278, 

317 
Ashburton,  Lady,  88,  187, 195,  203, 

231 
Auckland,  Lord,  173 


Aumale,  Due  d',  83,  no,  113,  132 
Aumale,  Duchesse  d',  no 
Avebury,   Lord,  see  Lubbock,  Sir 
John 

Bagot,  Mrs.  L.,  174 

Bagot,  Richard  (Howard),  107 

Bagshawe,  Sir  — ,  166 

Baillie,  Lady  Francis,  243 

Baker,  Pasha,  303 

Baring,  see  Northbrook,  Lord 

Baring,  34 

Baring,  Arthur,  drowned,  126,  148 

Baring,  Evelyn  (Earl  of  Cromer), 
58,  66,  68,  72,  169,  170,  174,  191, 
256,  314 

Baring,  Frank,  149,  318 

Baring,  Lady  Emma,  208,299,  318, 
333,  354,  364 

Baring,  Miss  (Lady  Emma  Crich- 
ton),  149 

Baring,  Mr.,  150,  198 

Baring,  T.,  148,  173 

Baring,  T.  G.,  M.P.,  see  North- 
brook,  Lord  (2nd  Baron) 

Baroda,   Gaikwar    Mulharkao  of, 

183 

Baroda,  poisoning  affair  of,  183 

Barry,  Dr.,  discovered  to  be  a 
woman,  66 

Bathursts,  54 

Battenberg,  Prince  Alexander  of, 
328 

Beaconsfield,  Lord,  197  ;  see  Dis- 
raeli 

Beatrice,  Princess,  241,  275,  328, 

338 
Beaufort,  Sir  E.,  52 


383 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Bedford,  Duke  of,  206 

Belgians,  King  of  the,  147 

Bent,  Theodore,  335 

Bethell,  Gussie,  see  Parker,  Gussie 

Bethell,  Walter,  258 

Bethells,  Westbury,  59 

Beverley,  Lord,  59 

Biella,  355 

Birch,  Sir  A.,  176 

Birrell,  Mrs.  (see  Tennyson),  191 

Bismarck,  323 

Boers,  character  of,  238 

Bohaja,  Filippo,  209 

Bonera,  Sig.  Luigi,  166 

"  Book  of  Nonsense,  The,"  21,  78, 

356-7  ;  see  "  More  Nonsense" 
Boscawen,  Miss  (Mrs.  Deane),  174 
Boswell,  R.  S.,  husband  of  Mary 

Lear,  8-1 1 
Boswell,  Mrs.,  see  Lear,  Mary 
Botzen,  136 

Bowen,  Sir  G.  F.,  299,  323 
Boyle,  Audrey,  3 13 
Boyle,  the  Hon.  Edmund,  74 
Boyles,  327 
Bradford,  Lord,  93 
Braham,  Augustus,  221 
Braham,  Charles,  221,  311 
Braham,  Constance,  221 
Braham,  Ward,  202,  219 
Brassey,  Lord,  246 
Briggs,  Sir  G.,  237 
Bright,  John,  154 
Bright,  Richard,  211 
Brougham,  Lord,  93 
Bruce,  the  Hon.—  ("  The  Duffer  "), 

125 
Bruce,  Mrs.  Henry,  140 
Bruce,  the    Rt.    Hon.    Henry   G. 

(Lord  Aberdare),  55,   130,   140, 

i55,   157.   169,   172,  187,  193-5, 

200,  203,  205,  290 
Buccleuch,  Duchess  of,  99 
Buccleuch,  Duke  of,  92 
Bunsens,  59 

Burke,  Sir  Bernard,  248 
Burne,  Lady  Agnes,  322 
Bush  (Lear's  publisher),  no,  112, 

124,  139,  143,  197,  198,  231,  234 
Butler,  Dr.,  89,  91 
Butler,  Mrs.,  89 
Buxton,  Mr.,  91 
Byng,  Colonel,  241 
Byron,  186  246 


Cairo, 81 

Caldwell,  Colonel,  246 

Caldwell,  Mrs.,  246 

Cambridge,  Duke,  of,  126 

Camerons,  47 

Campbell,  Miss,  "  of  Corsica,"  278, 

348 
Cannes,  88,  no 
Canning,  Lord,  238 
Carlingford,  Lord,  see  Fortescue, 

Chichester 
Carlingford,  self-styled  Irish  Earl, 

247 
Carlisle,  9th  Earl  of,  189 
Carlisle,  Countess  of,  189 
Carlyle,  Thomas,  88,  192,  240,  337 
Carnarvon,  Lord,  82 
Carter,  J.  Benham,  322-3 
Carysfort,  Lord,  75 
Castro,  Thomas,  160 
Cavendish,  Lord  Frederick,  306 
Cesare,  329,  331,  344,  364 
Ceylon,  176 
Chamberlain,  Right  Hon.  Joseph, 

238,  286,  319,  321 
Chartres,  Due  de,  126 
Chesters,  108 

Chichester,  Lady  Hamilton,  70,  76 
Chirol,  Valentine  A.,  272 
Church,  Canon  (Charles),  16,  222, 

270-1,  277,  278,  286 
Church,  Dean  (Richard  William), 

222 
Churchill,  Lady,  275 
Churchill,    Lord    Randolph,    305, 

338,  340 
Clancarty,  Lord,  200 
Clarendon,  Earl  of,  120,  121 
Clark,  Sir  Andrew,  217 
Clay-Keeton,  Mr.,  130 
Clermont,  Lady,  200,  330 
Clermont,  Lord,  93,  102,  120,  218, 

250.  349>  355,  356 
Clermonts,  219,  224 
Clive,  G.,  194,  200,  330 
Clive,  Mrs.  G.,  278,  330, 356 
Clives,  34 

Clough,  Arthur  Hugh,  139,  337 
Clowes,  278 
Cobden,  Richard,  63 
Cochranes,  Baillie  — ,  114 
Cocks,  T.  S.,  62 
Colenso,  Bishop,  49,  96,  98 
Coleridges,  222 


384 


Index 


Colleredo,  Comtesse,  52-3 
Collins,  Wilkie,  34,  297 
Colonna,  316 
"  Competition- Wallah,   The,"    50, 

52 
Congreve,  Dr.,  196 
Congreve,  Hubert,  6,  15,  159,  200 
Congreve,  Hubert,  letters  to,  32-7 
Congreve,  Hubert,  Preface  by,  17 
Congreve,  Richard,  124,  136 
Congreve,  the  Misses,  196 
Congreve,  Walter,  118,  124,  136, 

138,  139,  159,  192,  196 
Connaught,  Duke  of,  275 
Constance,  see  Strachey,  Lady 
Coombe,  Laura,  347 
Corfu,  54 
Cork,  Earl  of,  74 
"Cork  Leg,  The,"  20 
Corniche  Road,  the,  56 
Corsica,  103 

"Corsica,  Journal  in,''  108,  no 
Cortazzi,  54 
Courtenay,  Miss,  267 
Cowper,  Lord,  317 
Cranbourne,  Lord,  82 
Cranbrook,  Lord,  238 
Cranworth,  Lord,  62 
Cromer,  Lord,  see  Evelyn  Baring 
Crouch,  183 
Cross,  J.  E.,  81 
Cross,   Mr.    (husband  of    George 

Eliot),  267 
Cumberland,  Duke  of,  portraits  of, 

at  Genoa,  166 
Cumberland,  present  Duke  of,  320 
Curcumelli,  Lady,  86 
Curcumelli,  Sir  D.,  58,  86 

Dabinett,  Miss,  n 

Dagmar,  Princess  (Dowager  Em- 
press of  Russia),  61 

Dalhousie,  Lord,  93,  99,  in 

Darjeeling,  168 

Darwin,  Charles,  276 

Davy,  Lady,  153,  212,  336 

Davy,  Sir  Humphry,  153 

Delane,  117 

Denison,  Bishop,  243 

Dennett,  Miss,  258 

Derby,  Lord,  32,  35,  49 ;  reputed 
author  of  the  "  Book  of  Non- 
sense," 78,  95, 96 ;  marriage,  120, 
124,  133,  144,  246,  366 


Derby,  Lady,  120,  144,  197 

Des  Voeux,  Charlotte  (Lady  Grey), 
92 

Des  Voeux,  Sir  Charles,  92 

Des  Voeux,  Miss,  92 

Dillon,  J.  B.,  71 

Dimitri  (Dmitri,  Demetrio,  De- 
metrius Kokali,  son  of  George) 
215,  232,  263,  305,  310,  319,  321, 
325,  330 

Disraeli,  78,  95-6, 98, 126, 189, 190, 
196,  197,  279 

Dormer,  Miss,  288-9 

Douglas,  Lady  Francis  Harriet,  see 
Fitzwilliam,  Lady 

Dromiskin,  see  Fortescue,  248 

Drummond,  48 

Drummond,  Andrew,  45,  129 

Drummond,  Augustus,  347 

Drummond,  Edgar,  48 

Drummond,  Mrs.  Edgar,  48 

Drummond,  R.,  147 

Duchess  St.,  105,  109 

Duckworth,  Canon,  203 

Duff,  James  Cunningham  Grant, 
188 

Duff,  Sir  Mountstuart  Grant,  183, 
188,  367 

"  Duffer,  The,"  125 

Duncan,  Lady,  51,  54,  59 

Eardley,  Sir  Culley,  212 

Eardleys,  Culley,  212 

"  Earl,  Edward,"  78 

Earl,  Mr.,  246 

Eaton,  Mr.,  134 

Ebury,  Lord,  114 

Edmunds,  Leonard,  62 

Edwards,  68,  70 

Edwards,  Colonel  James  Bevan,  209 

Elcho,  Lord,  92 

Elgin,  7th  Earl  of,  243 

Eliot,  George,  267 

Eliot,  Mrs.,  354 

Ellen  (Ellinor),  Lear's  sister,  see 

Lear,  Ellen 
Elliot,  Georgina  Isabella,  89 
Elliot,  Rt.  Hon.  Hugh,  89 
Ellis,  Arthur,  207 
Ely,  Lady,  241,  275,  277 
Erasmo,  233,  238,  329 
Erroll,  Lady,  70 
Eugenie,  Empress,  126 
Ewart,  275-6 


38s 


BB 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Faccioli,  Carlo,  359 

Fairbairn,  Mrs.,  and  children,  por- 
trait by  Hunt,  62 

Fairbairn,  T.,  55,  81 

Farnham,  Lord,  329 

Farquhar,  Harvie,  356 

Fawkes,  Captain,  174 

Fawkes,  T.  W.,  174 

Fenton,  Rev.  —  (chaplain  at  San 
Remo),  145,  187,  222,  254,  308 

Ferguson,  Misses  Monro,  352 

Ferguson,  Mrs.  Monro,  352 

Ferrari,  M.,  326 

jfarrington,  130 

Filippo,  209 

Fitzmaurice,  Lord  Edmond,  126 

Filzstephen,  183 

Fitzwilliam,  Lady,  58,  322 

Fitzwilliam,  Lord,  58-9 

Fitzwilliam  Museum,  the,  16 

Foord  and  Dickinson,  133,  290, 
366 

Forster,  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E.,  303,  305, 

3i7;  332,  337 

Fortescue,  Chichester  (Lord  Car- 
lingford),  34,  46,  49 ;  appointed 
Secretary  to  Ireland,  63-5,  72, 
75  ;  appointed  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  113,  117,  129, 
131,  134,  140,  207,  215;  loses  his 
wife,  Lady  Waldegrave,  216, 
217,  219;  appointed  Lord  Privy 
Seal,  236,  237  ;  at  Balmoral,  241, 
244,  246-7,  276  ;  appointed  Pre- 
sident of  Council,  288 ;  at  Bal- 
moral, 320 ;  stays  with  Lear  and 
is  taken  ill,  342-3,  359,  362 

Fortescue,  Chichester,  Letters  to, 
45,  48,  56,  65,  85,  88, 96, 104,  105, 
no,  118,  120,  131,  136,  142,  144, 
147,  151,  155,  165,  168,  170,  175, 
181,  182,  184,  185,  190,  194,  199, 
201,  203,  204,  207,  209,  218,  224, 
226,  227,  228,  230,  232,  235,  236, 
240,  242,  244,  246,  248,  252,  257, 
262,  266,  270,  273,  277,  281,  282, 
283,  284,  290,  292,  295,  298,  301, 
302,  304,  305,  308,  311,  313,  317, 
318,  321,  324,  328,  329,  332,  337, 
340,  341,  342,  343,  346,  347,  348, 
349,  35o,  35i,  353,  354,  355,  35^, 
358 

Fortescue,  Chichester  Letters  from, 
95,  125,  127,  146,  154,  178,  193, 


197,  198,  215,  222,  223,  225,  229, 
231,  235,  241,  248,  256,  275,  280, 
292,  295,  321,  323,  326,  327,  336, 

340 

Fortescue,  Miss,  the  actress,  292 

Foss  the  Cat,  146,  192,  203,  210, 
213,  263,  299 ;  dies  aged  seven- 
teen, 359,  361,  365 

Francesco  d'Assisi,  138 

Francillon,  34 

Franklin,  Lady,  86 

Franklin,  Sir  John,  86,  250 

Frascati,  137 

Frederica,  Princess,  of  Hanover, 
320 

Frederick,  Emperor,  269 

Frederick,  Empress,  269 

Frederick,  Prince,  167 

Frederick,  Lear's  brother,  see  Lear, 
Frederick 

Fremantle,  the  Hon.  Mrs. — (nie 
Eardley)  212,  227 

Frere,  Hookham,  70 

Frith,  W.  P.,  R.A.,  356 

Fytche,  the  Rev.  Stephen,  62 

Galliera,  Duchesse  de,  326 

Galloway,  Lord,  89 

Galway,  Lord,  339 

Gastaldi,  32 

Genoa,  165 

George  (Giorgio)  Kokali,  Lear's 
Suliot  servant,  21,  23,  27-9,  50, 
52,  61,  63,  67,  76,  91, 96,  in,  120, 

123,  133,  134,  137,  i38,  J45,  l67, 
169,  170,  171,  175,  176,  178,  185, 
186 ;  illness  and  return  to  Corfu, 
199-201,  203,  209 ;  recovery  and 
return,  209,  221,  224,  229,  232, 
234,  240,  242,  246,  249,  252,  253, 
261-3  ;  illness,  263,  268,  278-9, 
282  ;  last  illness,  286-9,  293,  29$, 
309,  313,  367. 

George  I.,  George  II.,  George  III., 
portraits  of,  at  Genoa,  166-7 

George  V.,  of  Hanover,  320 

Gibbs,  F.  W.,  Q.C.,  C.B.,  129 

Gibson,  John,  the  sculptor,  68,  70 

Gillies,  169 

Gillies,  Emily,  116,  158 

Gillies,  Mr.,  14,  158 

Giuseppe,  215,  232,  234,  238,  355, 
359 ;  his  account  of  Lear's  death, 
362 


386 


Index 


Gladstone,  the  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E.,  82, 
105,  113,  117,  127,  134-5,  i57> 
194,  201,  237-8,  244,  254,  262, 
286,  293,  301,  303,  306,  315,  317, 
323,  328-9 

Gladstone,  Mrs.,  95 

Glass,  Lady,  92 

Glass,  Sir  Richard,  91 

Gloucester,  Duke  of,  167 

Godley,  Charles,  62 

Godley,  John,  62 

Godley,  Mrs.,  62 

Goldsmid,  Lady,  285 

Goldsmid,  Sir  F.,  129 

Gordon,  Lady  Duff,  84,  98 

Goschen,  303,  305,  317,  332,  337 

Grant  Duff,  see  Duff 

Grants,  Walsingham,  347 

Granville,  Lord,  113,  121,  229,  230, 
326 

Graves,  357 

Gray,  Bishop,  96 

Greatheed,  Anne  C.  (Lady  C. 
Percy),  265 

Greatheed,  B.  B.,  265 

Green,  Dean,  96 

Green,  T.  H.,  297 

Gregory,  Sir  W.,  176 

Grenfell,    Henry    R.,    97-9,    125, 

321,  34° 
Grenfell,  Mrs.   H.  R.,  97-8,   144, 

235 
Grey,  Lady  (George),  92,  144,  208 
Grey,  Lady  Georgina,  246 
Grey,  Lord  (3rd  Earl),  296 
Grey,  Lord,  201,  206 
Grey,  Sir  George,  72-3,  92,  144 
Grey,  Mr.,  239 
Grey,  Mrs.  C,  278 
Grimaldi  (of  Monaco),  166 
Grote,  Mrs.,  245 
Guests,  47 
Gullino,  Pia,  233 
Gurney,  the  Rev.  W.,  298 

Haddington,  Lord,  267 
Halifax,  Lord,  121 
Hallam,  A.,  178 
Hamilton,  Chichester,  270 
Hamilton,  John,  168,  176 
Hamilton,  the  Ladies,  267 
Hamilton,  Mrs.,  168 
Hankeys,  54 
Harding,  Lord,  208 


Harfords,  59 
Harrowby,  Lord,  348 
Hartington,  Lord,  229,  230 
Hassall,  Dr.,  6,  37,  263,  267,  308, 

324,    329,    342,    349,  350,    352, 

364-5 
Hassall,  Mrs.,  6,  352  ;  letter  from, 

359-61,  364-5 
Hatherton,  Lady,  183 
Hay  ward,  A.,  303,  364 
Heber,  Bishop,  307,  352 
Henley,  Lord,  123,  197,  337 
Henley,  Lady,  123 
Herveys,  108 

Hesse,  Princess  Alice  of,  241 
Hesse,  Princesses  of,  241 
Holland,  Queen  of,  92 
Hollands,  106 
Hooker,  Dr.,  170 
Hornby,  Admiral,  218 
Hornby,  Rev.  J.  J.,  205 
Horton,  Lady  Wilmot,  174 
Houghton,  Lady,  93 
Houghton,   Lord     (R.   Monckton 

Milnes),  80-1,  83,  194,  219,  338, 

34° 
Houlton,  Lady,  70,  76 
Houlton,  vSir  V.,  70,  76 
Howard  de  Walden,  Lady,  175 
Howard,  George,  189,  209 
Howard,  Greville,  189 
Howard,  Hon.  F.  G.  (Upton),  107! 
Howard,  Mrs.  George,  189 
Howard,  Mrs.  Greville,  107,  191, 

33° 
Howards,  108 
Howitt,  William,  189 
Hudson,  324 
Hunt,  Holman,  34,  58,  59,  62,  84, 

88 
Hunt,  Husey,  34,  81,  85,  234,  249 
Hunt,  Mrs.  Holman,  death  of,  84 
Hunt,  Mrs.,  106 

Ignatius,  Father,  73 
Ilbert  Bill,  the,  295 
Ipomaeas,  Lear's,  27,  33 
Irving,  Edward,  336 
Isabella  II.,  138 

Jackson,  Mr.,  94,  99 

"  Jacobs'  Homnium's  Hoss,"  56 

James,  Arthur,  258 


387 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


ames,  Sir  William,  54 
ekyll,  Clara  (Lady  Henley),  123 
ekyll,  J.  H.  S.,  123 
erburgh,  Mrs.,  336 
ervoise,  Captain,  175 
"  Journal  in  Corsica,"  106 

Kant,  282 
Kay,  Sir  J.,  129 
Kemble,  Fanny,  267 
Kerr,  Bellenden,  138 
Kerr,  Jane,  see  Lady  Davy 
Kerr,  Lord  Ralph,  248 
Kerr,  Lady  Ralph,  248 
Kestner,  Chevalier,  296 
Kettlewell,  Mr.,  365 
Kimberley,  Lord,  74,  121,  157 
Kingsley,  Charles,  352 
Knowsley,  130 

"  Knowsley  Menagerie,  The,"  35 
Kokali,  Giorgio,  see  George 
Kruger,  Colonel  (late  President), 
238 

Lacaita,  J.,  283 

Lambert,  Miss,  241 

Lambi,  210,  215,  263,  279,  325 

Langton,  W.,  81 

Lansdowne,  Lord,  99,  153,  317 

Laurence,  (Sir  J.),  Lord,  238 

Layards,  313 

Le  Mesurier,  H.  E.  P.,  176 

Leake,  Mrs.,  208 

Lear,  Anne,  7,  12,  15,  130,  189 

Lear,  Edward,  last  days,  7;  sil- 
houette portrait,  9,  12  ;  descrip- 
tion of  appearance,  17  ;  name 
and  ancestry,  17;  life  at  San 
Remo,  18 ;  his  singing,  20 ; 
nonsense  rhymes  and  paintings, 
22 ;  "  topographies,"  23 ;  method 
of  working,  24-5 ;  tour  in  India, 
26 ;  journey  to  Brindisi,  27-8 ; 
Naples,  29 ;  his  singing,  30-1  ; 
meditates  emigration,  32 ;  fail- 
ing health,  34;  last  visit  to 
England,  35 ;  death,  37 ;  search 
for  quarters  at  Nice,  50-1  ; 
settles  at  Nice,  52  ;  in  Lon- 
don, 61  ;  Venice,  63  ;  Malta, 
67  ;  Messina,  74 ;  London,  77  ; 
Marseilles,  80;  projected  visit 
to  Egypt,  80 ;  Cairo,  81 ;  Egypt 
and    Nubia,    83 ;    Lewes,    87 ; 

388 


Cannes,  88  ;  work  and  projected 
publications,  91  ;  Corsica,  103  ; 
London,  104 ;  Cannes,  1 10  ; 
moves  to  San  Remo  and  builds 
the  Villa  Emily,  115;  plans  for 
work,  116, 134  j  his  singing,  143  ; 
work  and  habits,  145;  sets  out 
for  India  but  returns,  151 ;  the 
journey  finally  undertaken,  165  ; 
the  Indian  tour,  168  :  return  to 
San  Remo,  175  ;  list  of  work 
done  in  India,  180-1 ;  in  Eng- 
land, 204;  goes  to  Corfu, 
returning  to  San  Remo,  209 ; 
last  visit  to  England,  234 ;  his 
Tennyson  illustrations,  238 ; 
loses  George,  288, 293-8  ;  serious 
illness,  308  ;  loses  Nicola,  331  ; 
later  life,  360  ;  death,  360-2 

Lear,  Ellen  (Ellinor)  (Mrs.  New- 
som),  15,  85,  112 

Lear,  Frederick,  273 

Lear,  Mary  (Mrs.  Boswell),  7-10  ; 
letters  to,  11-12 

Lear,  Sarah,  see  Street,  Sarah 

Legges,  108 

Leopold,  Prince  (Duke  of  Albany), 
241 

Levi  {Levey),  255 

Lewis,  Sir  G.  Cornewall,  59 

"Light  of  Asia,  The,"  255 

Limerick,  Lord,  93 

Lincoln,  Bishop  of,  243 

Lisgar,  Lady,  212 

Lisgar,  Lord,  212 

Lloyd,  Jones,  211 

Locker,  191 

Lockhart,  Miss  M.,  302 

London,  Bishop  of,  96 

Longmans,  49 

Lome,  Marquis  of,  127 

Lothian,  Lady,  248 

Louis,  Admiral  Sir  John,  205,  256 

Louis,  Miss,  256 

Louise,  Princess,  127,  129 

Lowe,  154 

Lubbock,  Sir  John  (Lord  Aves- 
bury),  16,  238,  274,  322,  366 

Luigi,  37,  322,  325,  329,  331,  341, 
342,  346,  349,  351,  354,  361,  364 

Lushington,  Dr.,  62,  146 

Lushington,  E.,  334,  338,  359 

Lushington,  Sir  Franklin,  15,  34, 
48,  81,  119,  120,   130,  138,    141, 


Index 


178,  185,  191,  19s,  197,  203, 
210, 249, 262, 272, 278, 294, 296, 

338,  352  ;  letter  from,  362 

Lushington,  Harry,  178,  338 

Lushington,     Miss    (Lear's    god- 
daughter), 182 

Lushingtons,  211 

Lyons,  Lord,  56 

Lyttelton,  Lady,  194, 195,  350 

Lyttelton,  Lord,  194 

Lytteltons,  34 

Lytton,  Lord,  238 

Macaulay,  Lord,  50 

Mackenzie,  Mrs.  Colin,  184 

Mackenzie,  Rt.  Hon.  J.  S.,  88 

Maffei,  Count,  94 

Maine,  Sir  Henry,  294 

Malta,  67 

Manners,  48 

Marsala,  Lear's  favourite,  19 

Marriott,  303,  305 

Marseilles,  80 

Martin,  Sir  Theodore,  239 

Mary,  Lear's  sister,  see  Lear,  Mary 

(Mrs.  Boswell) 
Maximilian,  Emperor,  138 
Mazini,  267 
Mazini,    Signora  (Signora    Linda 

Villari),  267 
Meade,  183 
Melville,  183 

Merimee,  Prosper,  100,  no 
Merlo  (the  blackbird),  263 
Messina,  74 
Michell,  Mrs.,  14 
Milan,  313 
Mill,  J.  Stuart,  63 
Milnes,  R.   Monckton,    see    Lord 

Houghton 
Miniatures  of  Lear's  sisters,  7,  9 
Mitri  (Dimitri),  24 
Moberlys,  222 
Money,  General,  74 
Money,  Ida,  74 
Money,  Lady  Laura,  74 
Monteith  of  Carstairs,  133 
Montpensier,  Due  de,  326 
Moore,  Tom,  152,  133 
"  More  Nonsense,"  21,  80, 122, 139, 

H5»  198,  356-7 
Morier,  Robert,  323,  324 
Mornington,  Lord,  248 
Mount  Edgcumbe,  Lord,  91-2 


Mulgrave,  Earl  of,  287,  309,  328 
Mulharkao,    Gaikwar  of    Baroda, 

183 

Muncaster,  Lord,  48 
Mundella,  Mary,  266,  274,  347,  366 
Mundella,  Rt.  Hon.  A.  J.,  36,  266, 
358 

Napier,  Sir  Charles,  life  of,  59 

Naples,  29 

Napoleon  III.,  138 

Nevill,  Mary  (Eliot),  354 

Nevill,  W.,  58,  88,  106,  169,  178 

New  Zealand,  references  to,  8, 10, 
69,87,  112,  158,  169 

Newdigate,  Mr.,  197 

Newsom,  Ellinor  (Ellen  Lear), 
15,47,85,  112 

Nice,  50-1 ;  Lear  s  room  at,  52-3 

Nicola,  24,  253,  263,  264,  279,  305, 
308,  310,  312,  320,  322,  326,  328, 
330 

Nicolson,  John,  238 

Nightingale,  Florence,  327 

"  Nonsense,  Book  of,"  see  "  Book  of 
Nonsense"  and  "More  Non- 
sense " 

Normanby,  Marquis  of,  287 

Northbourne,  Lord,  337 

Northbrook,  Lord,  15,  26,  32,  65, 
145,  147-8,  155,  160,  169,  171-4, 
178,  183,  187-8,  191-3,  195,  203- 
5,  207-8,  218,  220,  221,  235-6, 
238,  253,  256,  263,  265,  267,  269, 
276,  294,  296,  299,  303,  307-8, 
314,  318,  332,  334,  350-2,  354, 
362 

Northbrook,  present  Earl  of,  149 

Northbrooks,  234 

Northcote,  Sir  Stafford,  303,  306, 
313 

Northington,  Lord,  337 

Northumberland,  Duke  of,  265 

Norreys,  Lord,  288 

Nubia,  83 

"Omnium,  Jacob"    (Matthew    J. 

Higgins),  56 
Oppell,  Baron,  350 
Oppell,    Baroness   (Mary    Scott), 

350 
Orleans,  Princes,  the,  109,  126 
Ormonde,  Lord,  93,  355 


389 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Orton,  Arthur,   "The  Claimant," 

1 60 
Osborne,  Tennyson's  visit  to,  48 


Paintings,  List  of  Lear's,  368 

Palmer,  Sir  Roundell,  123 

Palmerston,  Lord,  334 

Paris,  Comte  de,  109,  327 

Paris,  Comtesse  de,  327 

Parker,  Adamson,  268 

Parker,  Gussie  (Augusta  Bethell), 
231,234,268,278,284,354 

Parodies  of  Tennyson,  161 

Pattle,  Colonel,  179 

Pattle,  James,  206 

Pattle  Virginia  (Lady  Somers),  47 

Pawel-Rammingen,  Baron  von, 
320 

Peel,  General,  82 

Peel,  Major,  67 

Peel,  Rt.  Hon.  John,  67 

Pelegrini  ("  Ape  "),  109 

Percevals,  48 

Percy,  Lady  Charles,  60,  150,  265 

Percy,  Lord  Charles,  60 

Percy,  Miss,  150,  265 

Perry,  Sir  Erskine,  302 

Phayre,  Colonel,  183 

Philipp,  Mme.,  see  Mrs.  H assail 

Philpott,  Bishop,  223 

Philpott,  the  Rev.  R.  S.,  223 

Phoca  privata  (Privy  Seal),  "  non- 
sense" letters,  258,  353 

Pietro,  322 

Pigeons,  Lear's,  354-5 

Pigott,  117 

Pitt,  153 

Pitt,  Miss,  241 

Plumtre,  Dean,  278 

Plumtre,  Mrs.,  278 

"  Policeman  X.,  Ballad  of,"  56 

Pollocks,  47 

Ponsonby,  Sir  H.,  241 

Poona,  172 

Potter,  T.  B.,  63 

Powell,  351 

Priestcraft,  hatred  of,  in  Italy,  137 

Prinseps,  47 

Princess  Royal,  in,  269 

Privy    Seal,    "nonsense"    letters, 

259>  353 
Proby,  Lord,  75 
"Puxley,"  129 


Ramsay,     Miss     Agneta     (Mrs. 

Butler),    89 
Red  House  (Mrs.  Ruxton's),  232 
Reid,  Sir  J.,  197 
Reillys,  54 

Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  248 
Richmond,  Duke  of,  196 
Richmond,  Sir  William,  R.A.,  82 
Ridley,  General,  67,  69,  76 
Robinson,  Admiral  Sir   Spencer, 

50,  205,  256,  266 
Robinson,   Lady,   205,    208,    256, 

258,  266 
Roden,  Lord,  262 
Rogers,  Thorold,  321 
Roma,  Count  Candiano  di,  299 
Rome,  30 

Roundell,  Charles,  123 
Roundell,  Mrs.  Charles,  16 
Roxburghe,  Dowager  Duchess  of, 

320 
Rusconi,  see  Luigi 
Ruskin,  John,  349,  364 
Russell,  Lord,  95,  128,  129 
Russell,  Lord  John,  153 
Russia,  Empress  of,  61 
Rutland,  Duke  of,  45 
Ruxton,  Captain,  18 1-2 
Ruxton,  Mrs.,  108,  186,  232,  330 

St.  Albans,  Bishop  of,  245 
Salisbury,    Lord,    192,    252,    303, 

305-6,  319,  323 
Salt  marshes,  54 
Sandbach,  W.,  92 
Sandbach,  Mrs.  (nee  Capellen),  92 
Sandwich,  Lord,  271 
San    Remo,    Lear     builds    Villa 

Emily  at,  115;  returns  to,  175 
Sant  Arpino,  Duchess  di,  315 
San  Teodoro,  Duca  di,  316 
Schreibers,  47 
Scott,  Lord  Henry,  92 
Scott,  Lady  Henry,  92 
Scott,  Mary,  350 
Scott,  Mrs.  Sutherland,  92 
Scott,  Thomas,  350 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  350 
Sedgwick,  92 
Seeley,  Sir  J.  R.,  95 
Selwood,  Miss,  see  Lady  Tennyson 
Selwyn,  Rev.  E.  C,  267 
Sermoneta,  Duke  of,  137 
Sermoneta,  Duchess  of,  137 


390 


Index 


Seymour,  A.,  160,  208,  218,  270, 

273,  277,  281,  290,  352 
Seymour,  H.,  34 
Shaftesbury,  Lord,  129,  134 
Shaw,  Mrs.,  16 
Shelley,  186-7,  246 
Shuttleworth,  Lady,  154,  159,  203 
Shuttleworth,  Robert,  134,  159 
Shuttleworth,  U.  Kay  (1st  Baron), 

129 
Simeon,  Cornwall,  123 
Simeon,  Lady,  284 
Simeon,  Mary,  284 
Simeon,  Sir  Barrington,  284 
Simeon,  Sir  John,  47,  117,  119 
Simla,  170 
Smart,  Admiral,  70 
Smart,  Lady,  70 
Smith,  Baird,  238 
Smith,  Goldwin,  97 
Smith,  Rev.  F.,  9 
Smithbarrys,  54 
Somers,  Lady  (Virginia  Pattle),  47, 

79,  206,  265 
Somers,  Lord,  34,  206,  218,  284 
Somerset,  Duke  of,  270-1,  273 
Spencer,  Lady,  272 
Spencer,  Lord,  74,  123,  257,  261, 

263,  265 
Stanley,  Catherine,  243 
Stanley,  Dean   (A.   P.),   191,   242, 

243,  245,  250,  289 
Stanley,  Lady  Augusta  {nee  Bruce), 

191 
Stanley,  Lord,  95-6 
Stanley,  Mary,  242 
Stanley  of  Alderley,  Lord,  189 
Stansfeld,  128 

Stanton,  Colonel  (Sir)  Ed.,  82 
Stanton,  Mrs.,  82 
Stern,  Baron,  284 
Stopford,  Misses,  244 
Storks,  Sir  Henry,  38,  67,  68,  72 
Strachey,  Ed.,  228 
Strachey,  Henry,  141,  278 
Strachey,     Lady    (Maribella    Sy- 

monds),  89,  90,  221 
Strachey,  Lady,  note  by,  5-17,  221, 

228,  311 
Strachey,  Sir  Ed.,  227,  266,  327 
Strahan,  J.,  67,  68,  70,  72-3 
Strangford,  Lady,  52,  54,  86 
Strangford,  Lord,  52,  54,  80 
Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  Lord,  279 


Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  Lady,  279, 

280 
Stratford   Place   (15),   54,  6i,  77, 

104,  131 
Strathallan,  Lord,  45 
"Strauss,  The,"  316 
Street,  C.  H.,  14,  356 
Street,  Sarah  (Sarah  Lear),  11,  13, 

69,  87,  112, 116, 124, 158, 169, 189 
Street,  Sophie,  13,  14,  169 
Streets,  10,  15 
Streletsky,  150 
Suardi,  322 
Suez  Canal,  190 
Suffolk,  Earl  of,  107 
Swainson,  Mr.,  333 
Sweden,  Crown  Prince  of,  216 
Swift,  "Lady  Emily,"  247 
Swift,   Mr.,   "Lord   Carlingford," 

247 
Switzerland,  242,  266,  285 
Symonds,  Janet,  90 
Symonds,  John  Addington,  89,  90, 

92,  186,  196,  297 
Symonds,    Maribella,     see    Lady 

Strachey 
Symonds,  Mrs.  J.  A.,  89,  90,  92 

Tait,  Archbishop,  129,  139,  279, 
280 

Tattons,  278 

Tavistock,  Lady,  206 

Tavistock,  Lord,  206 

Teano,  Prince,  137 

Teano,  Princess,  137 

Tennyson,  Alfred  (Lord  Tenny- 
son), 62,  85,  134,  226,  249,  263, 
293,  295,  297,  303,  312,  323,  329, 
338 

Tennyson,  D'Eyncourt,  293 

Tennyson,  Eleanor,  250 

Tennyson,  Hallam  (present  Lord 
Tennyson),  34, 311, 312, 314,318 ; 
sonnet  on  Villa  Tennyson,  318 

Tennyson,  Lear's  illustrations  to, 
25,  368 

Tennyson,  Lionel,  191 

Tennyson,  Mrs.  (Lady),  47,  62, 
182,  249,  338 

Tennyson,  Mrs.  Lionel  (Mrs. 
Birrell),  191 

Tennyson,  Villa,  see  Villa  Tennyson 

Tennysons,  234 

Thackeray,  36 


391 


Later  Letters  of  Edward  Lear 


Thiers,  63 
Thwaites,  Mr.,  336 
Tichborne  Claimant,  the,  160 
Tichbome,  Sir  Roger,  160 
Tivoli,  piratical  landlady  at,  30 
Tozer,  H.  F„  334 
Trelawny,  E.  J.,  186-7,  244 
Trevelyan,  Sir  George  O.,  50,  52 
Trollope,  Anthony,  289 
Tsarevitch,  the,  Nicolas  Alexandr  o- 

vitch,  81 
Tnrville,  Sir  F.  F.,  212 

Under  hill,  F.  T.,  243,  341 
Unwins,  34 

Upton,  Hon.  F.  G.  Howard,  107 
Urquhart,  D.,  132,  133 
Urquhart,  Fortescne,  15 
Urquhart,  Mrs.,  219,  222,  223,  227, 
228,  230,  349 

Valaorites,  121 

Vaughan,  Catherine,  243 

Vaux,  Lady,  56 

Venables,  G.  S.,  338 

Vernon,  183 

Verschoyle,  Rev.  H.  S.,  361 

Victoria,  Queen,  declared  Empress 
of  India;  3,  193,  196,  239,  241, 
244-S  258,  261,  271,  276-7,  285, 
291-5,  297,  300,  301,  316,  320, 

323-4»  33&-9 

Villa  Emily,  18 ;  burglary  at,  26 ; 
sold,  32;  built,  115;  burglary 
at,  175,  209;  view  blocked, 
214-5,  227,  240,  253,  258,  287, 
294;  tenants  abscond,  302; 
sold,  302 

Villa  Tennyson,  32-3 ;  Lear's 
death  at,  37;  the  building  of 
the,  214-5,  227,  229,  240-1,  244 ; 
the  present  Lord  Tennyson's 
sonnet  on,  318,  321 

Villari,  Linda  (nee  White,  veuve 
Mazini),  267 

Villari,  Prof.  Pasquale,  267 

Waldegrave,Countess  Dowager 
(daughter  of  Hon.  Sir  Edward 
Walpole),  167 

Waldegrave,  Earl,  81 

Waldegrave,  Lady,  15,  46,  63,  66, 
77,  81,  87, 97, 106, 119, 124, 131, 
*43»  157»  202,  204-5;  death  of, 


215-8,  219,  220,  225-6,  236,  240, 
245,  254,  257,  267,  275,  303,  305, 
311,  312,  321 

Waldegrave,  Lady,  letter  from,  94 

Waldegrave,  Lady,  letters  to,  63,  ' 
67,  68,  72,  73,  74,  77,  78,  80,  81, 
90,  103,  107,  113,  116,  128,131,  * 
141, 152,  166,  206 

Wales,  Prince  of,  192,  340 

Wales,  Princess  of,  340 

Walpole,  Horace,  130,  152-4,  166, 

254 
Walpoles,  48 
Walsingham,     Lady    (Ducchessa  > 

di  Sant  Arpino),  315 
Warner,  Lee,  174 
Watson,  R^  258 
Watsons,  278 
Watts,  G.  F.,  R^,  47 
Waugh,    Miss,    see    Hunt,    Mrs. 

Holman 
Webbs,  267 
Weld,  Cardinal,  60 
Wellesley,  the  Hon.  Elizabeth,  248  ■ 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  248 
Wentworth,  Mrs.,  174 
Westbury,  Lord,  62,  77,  231,  354 
Westminster,  Lord,  130 
White,  James,  267 
White,     Linda     (Villari,     veuve 

Mazini),  267 
Wieland,  282 
Wilbraham,  Ada,  Princess  Teano, 

137 
Wilkin,  Miss,  302 
Williams,  283,  314 
Williams,  Henry,  68 
Wilton,  Lord,  130 
WlsemanTOardinal,  60 
WTodehouse,  Sir  P.,  174 
Wolff,  Lady,  58 
Wolff,  Sir  Henry  Drummond,  38,  j 

"4,  338 
Wolseley,  Lord  (Sir  Garnet),  269,  i 

270,314 
Wordsworth,  Bishop,  243 
Wyatt,  Digby,  187,  246 
Wynne,  Mr.,  62 

Yelvertox,  Admiral,  70 
"Yonghy  Bonghy  Bo,  The,"  141, 

H3 
York,  Cardinal,  60 
Young,  Lady,  152 


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